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HER Number:MDV105654
Name:Catch Meadow to the northeast of Exton Mill

Summary

A catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible as a series of earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1969, to the northeast of Exton Mill.

Location

Grid Reference:SX 987 866
Map Sheet:SX98NE
Admin AreaDevon
Civil ParishWoodbury
DistrictEast Devon
Ecclesiastical ParishWOODBURY

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

  • CATCH MEADOW (Post Medieval to Modern - 1540 AD to 2013 AD (Between))

Full description

Meridian Airmaps Limited, 1969, MAL/69091, MAL/69091 V 049-50 22-NOV-1969 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352657.

A catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible as a series of earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1969.


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 1969, to the northeast of Exton Mill. 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 approximately 0.18 hectares of southeast facing slope. The system comprises a series of gutters which measure less than 2m in width and tap a stream located approximately 10m to the northeast. It is unclear from the aerial photographs alone with which farm this water meadow system might have been associated with. Not being directly linked to a farmstead it probably operated as a ‘detached’ system. The catch meadow was not visible on other aerial photographs or digital images made available to the survey.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV351146Interpretation: 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
SDV352657Aerial Photograph: Meridian Airmaps Limited. 1969. MAL/69091. Meridian Airmaps Limited Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). MAL/69091 V 049-50 22-NOV-1969.

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)

Date Last Edited:May 13 2014 10:09AM