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Summary

The remains of a water-meadow of probable post-medieval date is visible on aerial photographs between 1946 and 2007 as a series of earthwork then cropmark ditches. Slight earthworks may well survive.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

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

Two water channels are depicted but not marked on the map.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, RAF/CPE/UK/1890 FP 2105-2106 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351061.

Water meadow gutters are visible as earthwork ditches.

Next Perspectives, 2007, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SX6250 03-MAY-2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV350196.

The gutters are clearly visible as dark cropmarks.

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

A post medieval water meadow, known locally as a catchwater meadow system, is visible on aerial photographs between 1946 and 2007 as a series of earthwork ditches to the west of Claypark Plantation.
Catch meadows provided a simple, inexpensive but effective form of irrigation, designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream along the slope via a series of roughly parallel channels or gutters. A larger gutter, often called a headmain, tapped water from a source such as a river, spring or spring-fed stream. When irrigation was required the headmain was dammed, causing water to overflow downslope, where the roughly parallel gutters distributed the flowing water 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. Most catchwater meadow systems are believed to date to the post medieval period, although it is possible that they were first developed in the medieval period.
The Claypark catch meadow covers a visible area of approximately 1 hectare of east-facing slope, apparently fed from a spring that issues at circa SX6247250217 and joining up with a water channel that runs eastwards from circa SX6204450214.
The gutters are clearly visible as dark cropmarks on aerial photographs taken in 2007, and slight earthworks may survive.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV325644	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1904 - 1906. Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV350196	Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2007. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Digital. Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SX6250 03-MAY-2007.
SDV351061	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/CPE/UK/1890. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1890 FP 2105-2106 10-DEC-1946. [Mapped feature: #63963 ]
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

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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