MMO3170 - 19th Century water meadow south of Worth Farm (Monument)

A catchwork or field gutter system of probable 19th Century date is visible on aerial photographs as earthworks. The system consists of at least six parallel gutters covering an area of nearly two hectares of steep combe slope.

A water meadow system was seen on aerial photographs around Worth Farm. [1,2] A water meadow of probable 19th Century date is visible on aerial photographs as earthworks on the west facing slopes of Westwater Combe, between Worth Farm and Westwater Farm, centred on circa SS 8465 3327. Such water meadows, known as catchwork or field gutter systems, are usually found on combe or hill slopes and are designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream. The water is carried along the valley sides via one or more channels or gutters and when irrigation was required the gutters were blocked, causing water to overflow from gutter to gutter, 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 March and April. The water meadow consists of at least 6 roughly parallel gutters covering an area of nearly 2 hectares of steep combe slope. It was probably supplied with water by a leat, also known as a carriage gutter, which tapped Westwater approximately 800 metres to the northwest. This carriage gutter is not visible on the aerial photographs available to the survey as this area is obscured by surface vegetation, but its course is marked on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1890. The gutters can still be clearly seen on the images available on Google Earth at the time of Survey, but they appear poorly maintained indicating it has now probably passed out of use. [3-8] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [9]