MMO3213 - Post-medieval water meadow west of Eastern Ball Farm (Monument)

A post-medieval water meadow system, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks west of Eastern Ball Farm, Twitchen. Centred at approximately SS 7903 3188, three leats are visible, running north to south, apparently fed by a small spring west of the farm. This system appears to be connected to the farmyard at Eastern Ball, 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] 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]