MMO1753 - Post-medieval water meadow south of Slocombeslade (Monument)

Catchwork systems are usually found on steep combe sides and are designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream along the valley sides via a series of channels or gutters. This water meadow system was fed from a point up the valley to the south at circa SS 7768 4679. When irrigation was required the gutters were blocked, causing water to overflow, thereby irrigating the slopes. This film of water prevented the ground freezing during the winter and raised the temperature of the grass in the spring, thereby encouraging early growth, particularly important during the hungry gap of the March and April. Any excess water then returned to the feeder stream at the valley bottom or was removed by a tail drain. The use of a series of parallel gutters to improve the coverage, as seen here, is a common feature of Exmoor systems. This system also appears to be an example of a `detached system', where the water meadow is not attached to its farmstead and only distributed what liquid manure was carried to it. Although similar systems were operating elsewhere by the 17th Century, this water meadow is probably 19th Century in origin and probably continued in use well into the 20th Century, as can be seen at several similar systems visible in this area (see MMO1726, MMO1728, MMO1731 and MMO1720). However, by 1995 it has been destroyed by ploughing associated with post war agricultural improvements and hedgerow removal. [1-3] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [4]