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Summary

Catch meadow system of post-medieval or 19th century date to the north-east of Broadley Wood. Earthworks of narrow curvilinear channels are visible on 1940’s digital RAF aerial photographs and on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2007 and 2013. It had possibly fallen out of use by the early-20th century.

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

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

Several channels are visible indicating a water meadow. Springs are located on the south side of the fields.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

Channels are not visible.

Environment Agency, 2000-2019, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: Tamar Aerial Survey project area, LIDAR Environment Agency LAST RETURN 20-MAR-2007 (Cartographic). SDV363954.

Narrow curvilinear channels are visible as earthworks.

Cornwall Archaeological Unit, 2001-2002, Tamar Valley National Mapping Programme Transcriptions and Database Records (Interpretation). SDV346287.

Water meadow transcribed as several ditches indicating a water meadow. Map object based on this Source.

Ordnance Survey, 2011, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV346129.

Map object based on this Source.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: Tamar Aerial Survey project area, LIDAR Tellus LAST RETURN 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV363955.

Narrow curvilinear channels are visible as earthworks.

Hegarty, C., Houghton, E., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2020-2021, Tamar/Lidar; A Single Source Approach to Landscape Survey and Socially Distanced Community Archaeology Area 1 (AI&M project) (Interpretation). SDV363945.

Narrow curvilinear ditches, circa 2m wide, are visible as earthworks on 1940’s digital RAF aerial photographs and on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2007 and 2013. The earthwork channels follow the contours of the south-west facing combe slope and occupy an area of circa 1.7 hectares. They are interpreted as the gutters of a post-medieval or 19th century catch meadow irrigation system that was possibly associated with Henshears farmstead and which tapped a spring-fed stream that rises circa 300 metres to the south-east.
Catch meadow systems are designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream. The water is carried along the valley sides via one or more channels or gutters and when irrigation was required the gutters were blocked, causing water to overflow from gutter to gutter, thereby irrigating the slopes. This film of water prevented the ground from freezing during the winter and raised the temperature of the grass in the spring, thereby encouraging early growth, particularly important during the hungry gap of March and April.
The visible earthworks closely correspond with channels that are depicted on the late-19th century First Edition Ordnance Survey map, but which are no longer shown on the early-20th century Second Edition Ordnance Survey map. This suggests that the system had fallen out of use by this time.
The earthworks have been previously recorded as part of the Tamar Valley NMP project and so they have not been re-transcribed during this survey.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8345 - Tamar/Lidar; A Single Source Approach to Landscape Survey and Socially Distanced Community Archaeology Area 1 (AI&M) (Ref: ACD2380)

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