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Summary

The remains of an extendive catch meadow of probable post-medieval to twentieth century date were visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s as roughly parallel narrow earthwork ditches on the south facing slopes to the south of Fursdon Barton, Cadbury. Catch meadows are usually found on combe or hill slopes and are designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream and passing it along the slope via a series of roughly parallel channels or gutters. When irrigation was required the gutters were blocked, causing water to overflow from gutter to gutter, thereby irrigating the slopes below.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CATCH MEADOW (Post Medieval to XX - 1540 AD to 1946 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1823, RAF/CPE/UK/1823 RP 3257-3258 04-NOV-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV354994.

Parallel earthwork ditches are visible.

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

The remains of an extensive catch meadow of probable post-medieval to twentieth century date were visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s as roughly parallel narrow earthwork ditches on the south facing slopes to the south of Fursdon Barton, Cadbury.
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 was probably supplied by the spring-fed stream that probably rose at Fursdon Barton, and possibly a pond immediately to the south of the farm. The colocation of water source and farm might indicate that it operated as an attached system, utilising farmyard manure.
The gutters were possibly partly levelled by the 1940s; they were definitely not identifiable as earthworks on more recent aerial photographs available to the survey, including digital images derived from aerial photographs taken in 2010 and have probably therefore been levelled.

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 3257-3258 04-NOV-1946. [Mapped feature: #69594 ]
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

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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