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Summary

A catch meadow of probable post-medieval to 19th century date was visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s onwards as earthwork gutters to the north of Greenslinch Farm. The gutters probably survive as subtle earthworks.

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/1823, RAF/CPE/UK/1823 RP 4249-4250 04-NOV-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV354994.

Earthwork gulleys were visible.

Environment Agency, 1998-2012, LiDAR DSM data JPEG image (1m resolution), LIDAR SS9703-SS9603 Environment Agency DSM 19 Dec 2005 & 14-20 Feb 2012 (Cartographic). SDV357034.

The earthwork channels remained visible as very subtle earthworks.

Next Perspectives, 2002, Pan Government Agreement, Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SS9703 29-SEP-2002 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356896.

Earthwork gulleys remained visible.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2014-2015, East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV356883.

A catch meadow of probable post-medieval to 19th century date was visible on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards as earthwork gutters on combe slopes to the north of Greenslinch Farm.
Many 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 and often continued in use into the twentieth century. 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.
In this instance the catch meadow probably abstracted water from the stream that flows southwards along the combe, possibly at several locations. The gutters remained visible on the eastern slopes as subtle earthworks on digital images derived from aerial photographs taken in 2002 but the gutters on the western slopes were obscured by tree planting. However, a number of the gutters survive to be visible as subtle but possibly fragmentary earthworks on images derived from lidar data captured in 2005 and 2012.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV354994	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/CPE/UK/1823. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1823 RP 4249-4250 04-NOV-1946. [Mapped feature: #67722 ]
SDV356883	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2014-2015. East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV356896	Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2002. Pan Government Agreement. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Digital. Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SS9703 29-SEP-2002.
SDV357034	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2012. LiDAR DSM data JPEG image (1m resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR SS9703-SS9603 Environment Agency DSM 19 Dec 2005 & 14-20 Feb 2012.

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6530 - The East and Mid-Devon Rivers Catchment NMP project (Ref: ACD613)

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