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Summary

A catch meadow of probable post-medieval to 19th century date is visible on aerial photographs of 1946 as curvilinear earthwork ditches following the contours of the south-west facing combe slope to the south-east of Hillhead Farm. The ditches remain identifiable as earthworks on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

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 3170-3171 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV169268.

Curvilinear ditches are visible as earthworks.

Ordnance Survey, 1989, OS/89037, OS/89037 V 094-095 07-MAR-1989 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352115.

Curvilinear ditches are visible as earthworks.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX6756 22-MAY-2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

The ditches are not visible as earthworks.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: South Devon to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX6756 Tellus DTM 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV361514.

Curvilinear ditches are identifiable as 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.

Five roughly parallel curvilinear ditches are visible on aerial photographs of 1946 as earthworks spaced circa 5m to 20 apart, circa 2m to 3m wide and up to 75m long, closely following the contours of the south-west facing combe slope to the south-east of Hillhead Farm.
The channels are interpreted as the remains of a catch meadow 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 visible earthworks do not correspond with any ditches depicted on the 19th or early 20th century maps available to the survey. This might support the interpretation that the water meadow had fallen out of regular use by the late-19th century.
The gutters are not visible as earthworks on digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2007 but remain identifiable as earthworks on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

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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