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Summary

Extensive catchwork water meadows of probable post-medieval to 19th century date, also known locally as catch meadows, are visible on aerial photographs of 1946 as narrow, roughly parallel curvilinear earthwork ditches following the contours of the combe slopes between the A3121, Waterman Farm and Oakpark Cross.
Of probable post-medieval to 19th century date, short sections of ditch are marked on the Ordnance Survey 1880s 25inch First Edition map. The ditches remain identifiable as eroded and subtle 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 FS 2194-2195 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV169268.

Curvilinear ditches are visible as earthworks.

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.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: South Devon to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX67555-SX6855 Tellus DTM 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV361514.

Curvilinear ditches are identifiable as earthworks.

Google, 2019, Google Earth Pro, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM 09-OCT-2018 ACCESSED 16-MAR-2020 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363088.

Curvilinear ditches are visible 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.

Numerous roughly parallel curvilinear ditches are visible on aerial photographs of 1946 as earthworks closely following the contours over an area of approximately 6ha of north-west to south-west combe slopes between the A3121 Waterman Farm and Oakpark Cross.
The channels, typically 2m to 3m wide and up to circa 200m 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 extensive catch meadows recorded here included several short sections of ditch depicted on the Ordnance Survey 1880s 25inch First Edition map.
Despite the area covered and the multiple water sources involved, it is probable that the visible ditches recorded here operated as a single system, closely managed system. However, it is likely that some sections of the system fell out of regular use and, by the late-19th century, elements of these might have remained in use simply as drainage ditches or leats, as shown on the 19th century map.
Most of the gutters remain identifiable as eroded 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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