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Summary

Extensive catch meadows of probable post-medieval to 19th century date are visible on aerial photographs of 1946 as narrow curvilinear earthwork ditches on the combe slopes between Kitterford Cross Langford Barton. The ditches are much eroded but survive as very partial and subtle earthworks, identifiable on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1021376: Ringwork and bailey castle 400m south of Langford Barton

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CATCH MEADOW (Post Medieval to XIX - 1540 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, Devon County Council RAF/CPE/UK/1890 RP 3172-3174 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV169268.

Curvilinear ditches are visible as earthworks.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX6956 18-JUN-1999 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

The ditches are not readily identifiable as earthworks.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: South Devon to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX6956 Tellus DTM 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV361514.

Curvilinear ditches are identifiable as very subtle and eroded earthworks.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2019-2020, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (AI&M, formerly NMP) (Interpretation). SDV362982.

Numerous roughly parallel curvilinear ditches are visible on aerial photographs of 1946 as earthworks closely following the contours of a south-west to north-east aligned combe and its tributaries, over an area of nearly 20ha between Kitterford Cross and Langford Barton.
The channels, typically up to 2m wide and ranging from 50 to 300m long, are interpreted as the remains of catch meadows potentially of post-medieval to 19th century date.
Catch meadows abstracted from springs or streams and redistributed it along channels or gutters to irrigate combe slopes. Probably originating in the medieval period, they were in widespread use in Devon from the 19th to early 20th century.
The catch meadows incorporated a ditch partly depicted on the Ordnance Survey 1880s 25inch First Edition map and recorded separately as a leat (MDV44279). It is possible the watermeadows fell out of regular use by the late-19th century with some elements remaining in use as drainage ditches or leats.
Due to the area covered and the multiple water sources involved, it is unlikely that all the ditches recorded here operated as a single system, but their operation was probably interconnected and carefully managed.
The ditches are not readily identifiable on more recent aerial photographs but are identifiable on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013 as much eroded and partial subtle earthworks.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8098 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey, Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (Ref: ACD2040)

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