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Summary

A water meadow of probable post-medieval to 19th century date is visible on aerial photographs of 1946 to 2007 as curvilinear earthwork ditches on the east-facing combe slopes of a tributary of Dawlish Water west of Langdon Barton, Ashcombe. The ditches have probably been levelled.

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/106G/UK/1412, RAF/106G/UK/1412 RP 4069-4071 13-APR-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352504.

Curvilinear ditches are visible as earthworks.

Ordnance Survey, 1969, OS/69296, OS/69296 V 096-097 29-JUN-1969 (Aerial Photograph). SDV361475.

Curvilinear ditches are visible as earthworks.

Bluesky, 2006 - 2007, Bluesky aerial photographs 2006 - 2007, Devon County Council 2006-2007 Aerial Photograph mosaic (Aerial Photograph). SDV341189.

Curvilinear ditches are visible as earthworks.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 2015-2017, 2015-2017 Aerial Photographs, Devon County Council 2015-7 Aerial Photograph mosaic (Aerial Photograph). SDV361462.

The curvilinear ditches are not visible as earthworks.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2018-2019, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 1, Haldon Ridge to Dart Valley (Interpretation). SDV361305.

Three curvilinear ditches are identifiable on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards as earthworks on the east-facing combe slopes of a tributary of Dawlish Water, west of Langdon Barton, Ashcombe.
The earthworks are roughly parallel, less than 2m wide and spaced circa 20m apart, closely following the contours over circa 1.1ha of combe slope. They measure between 130m to 230m long.
The earthworks are interpreted as the remains of a catch meadow of probable post-medieval to 19th century date, a form of water meadow irrigation popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries but which originated in the medieval period. The ditches, known as gutters, ‘caught’ water flowing from the top gutter, or ‘head main’ and evenly distributed it over the slopes.
The gutters remained visible as earthworks, albeit largely overgrown, on digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2006-7 but could not be seen on 2015 images and have probably been levelled.
The gutters may have operated in combination with or independently of further gutters visible circa 300m to the north.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV341189	Aerial Photograph: Bluesky. 2006 - 2007. Bluesky aerial photographs 2006 - 2007. Bluesky. Photograph (Digital). Devon County Council 2006-2007 Aerial Photograph mosaic.
SDV352504	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/106G/UK/1412. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/106G/UK/1412 RP 4069-4071 13-APR-1946.
SDV361305	Interpretation: Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R.. 2018-2019. The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 1, Haldon Ridge to Dart Valley. Historic England Research Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV361462	Aerial Photograph: Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC. 2015-2017. 2015-2017 Aerial Photographs. Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC. Photograph (Digital). Devon County Council 2015-7 Aerial Photograph mosaic.
SDV361475	Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1969. OS/69296. Ordnance Survey. Photograph (Paper). OS/69296 V 096-097 29-JUN-1969. [Mapped feature: #114776 ]

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7515 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey (Ref: ACD1748)

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