Monument record MDO45334 - Post Medieval water meadow system, Tarrant Launceston

A Post Medieval water meadow system is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs. The water meadows flank the meandering river Tarrant between Launceston Farm and Monkton Ford and are orientated roughly NNW to SSE. The water meadows consist of irregular groups of parallel ditches which function as floats and drains, with the water ultimately flowing southwards. Their 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 9434 0932 and extend over an area that measures 610m long by a maximum of 155m wide and is orientated roughly NNW / SSE. They flank the meandering river Tarrant between Launceston Farm and Monkton Ford, between ST 9414 0956 and ST 09450 0907. The water meadows comprise irregular groups of parallel ditches which function as floats and drains, with the water ultimately flowing southwards. Some of the small component floats and drains within the groups may have silted up.

Their informal arrangement indicates a different, perhaps earlier, date than other examples along the Tarrant (see ST 90 NW 143 / UID: 1478946). 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 Aerial Photograph Survey & Analysis (Unpublished document).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, 03-MAR-1945, RAF/106G/LA/194 0093-0094 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19263.

<2> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1481121 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Feb 16 2023 3:12PM