Monument record MDO45331 - Post Medieval water meadow system, Tarrant Launceston

A Post Medieval water meadow system is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs situated to the east of and within a curve of the river Tarrant. The system is orientated north to south and flows southwards into the river where it meanders east. The water meadows consist of straight and sinuous linear drainage ditches forming no apparent pattern; this informal arrangement indicates a different, perhaps earlier, date than other examples along the Tarrant. The water meadows may have been constructed in the 17th or 18th century and were probably used into the early 20th century.

A Post Medieval water meadow system is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs, some of which may have been filled in. The water meadows are centred at ST 9406 0996 and extend over an area that measures 260m long by a maximum of 195m wide and is orientated north / south. They comprise a number of straight and sinuous linear drainage ditches which make no apparent pattern. Their informal arrangement indicates a different, perhaps earlier, date than other examples along the Tarrant (eg ST 91 SW 126 / UID: 1481243). The meadows are situated to the east of the river Tarrant, within a curve, and flow southwards into the river where it meanders east (see ST 90 NW 182 / UID: 1481173). The water meadows may have been constructed in the 17th or 18th Century and were probably used into the early 20th Century. They would have played a vital role in the local agricultural regime, allowing more sheep to be kept and therefore increasing the flock available to maintain the fertility of the relatively infertile chalk soils. <1>

<1> Bishop, Sharon, 2009, Tarrant Launceston 15 & Environs. Aerial Photograph Survey & Analysis (Unpublished document). SDO12459.

<1.1> Royal Air Force, 17-JAN-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1934 5151-5152 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19262.

<2> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1481213 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Feb 16 2023 3:10PM