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Summary

A catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible a series of earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1944 onwards at Lower Widdicombe Farm, with which it was probably associated.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CATCH MEADOW (Early Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1750 AD)

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1944, US/7PH/GP/LOC145, US/7PH/GP/LOC145 VM 8026-27 05-JAN-1944 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351456.

The catch meadow is visible as a series of earthwork ditches.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, RAF/CPE/UK/1890 RS 4050-51 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351061.

The catch meadow is visible as a series of earthwork ditches.

Ordnance Survey, 1976, OS/76038, OS/76038 V 34-35 26-APR-1976 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351458.

The catch meadow has been levelled.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2013-2014, South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV351146.

A catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible as a series of earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1944 onwards at Lower Widdicombe Farm, with which it was probably associated. Most catch meadow systems are believed to date to the post medieval period, although it is likely that they were first developed in the medieval period. Catch meadows provided a simple, inexpensive and effective form of irrigation. When irrigation was required water was diverted from a source such as a pond, river, spring or spring-fed stream and passed along the meadow slopes via one or more of the gutters, which was then caused to overflow. The lower, roughly parallel gutters then ‘caught’ and redistributed water passing it evenly over the surface of a meadow below. The gently flowing water prevented the ground freezing in winter and encouraged early growth in spring, thereby providing extra feed for livestock, particularly important during the hungry gap of the March and April. The catch meadow covers an area of just under 3 hectares of south facing slope to the southeast of Lower Widdicombe Farm. The system comprise a series of parallel gutters which measure less than 2m in width and appear to tap a spring fed stream that rises approximately 280m northeast of the farm. This water meadow might have operated as what has been called an ‘integrated’ catch meadow, in which manure from the cow sheds within the farmyard was mixed with the water supply to supply liquid manure to the pasture. The catch meadow gutters appear to have been levelled by 1976.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV351061	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/CPE/UK/1890. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1890 RS 4050-51 10-DEC-1946. [Mapped feature: #63860 ]
SDV351146	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2013-2014. South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV351456	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1944. US/7PH/GP/LOC145. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). US/7PH/GP/LOC145 VM 8026-27 05-JAN-1944.
SDV351458	Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1976. OS/76038. Ordnance Survey Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). OS/76038 V 34-35 26-APR-1976.

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6127 - Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme (NMP) for South-West England - South Coast Devon (Ref: ACD618)

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