MMO2729 - Post-medieval water meadow southeast of Sherracombe (Monument)

A post-medieval water meadow system, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks in fields south of Sherracombe, North Molton. Centred at approximately SS 7181 3569, four gutters are visible, following the contours of a steep south facing slope above an unnamed stream. The gutters extend across two fields, covering an area of approximately 2 hectares. This system appears to be connected to the farmyard at Sherracombe, suggesting that this was an integrated system which also distributed liquid manure as fertiliser to the fields. 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] The two fields are depicted and labelled on the North Molton Tithe Map. The eastern one is numbered 629 and named 'Western Brake', in arable use; the western is 630, labelled 'Gutter Close' and said to be meadow. [4] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [5]