MMO2723 - Post-medieval water meadow north of Kedworthy Down (Monument)

A possible post-medieval water meadow system is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks. This system does not appear to be connected to any local farmyards, suggesting that this was a detached system.

A possible post-medieval water meadow system, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks north of Kedworthy Down, Brayford. Centred at approximately SS 7147 3739 five gutters are visible, four to the north of Kedworthy Combe and one to the south. The gutters follow the contours of the valley above Kedworthy Combe and extend across several fields, covering an area of some 6 hectares. There are numerous springs and small streams in the vicinity which may have fed the system. However, the system does not appear to be connected to any local farmyards, suggesting that this was a detached system which only distributed water to the fields and not liquid manure or other fertilisers. It appears to have still been in use as recently as 1947. Catchwater meadows used a series of approximately parallel gutters to distribute flowing water evenly over the surface of the meadow in order to prevent freezing in winter and encourage early growth in spring, thereby providing extra feed for livestock. Most catchwater meadows are believed to date to the post-medieval period, although it is possible that they were first developed in the medieval period. [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]