MMO3652 - Post-medieval water meadow northeast of Moor Barn (Monument)

A post-medieval water meadow system, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks north-east of Moor Barn, Withycombe. Centred at approximately ST 0036 3936, a number of gutters are visible, some crossing others which suggests that they may have been recut at times. They run roughly north-south along the contours of the slope, covering an area of some 5 hectares. The gutters were apparently fed from a spring south of Moor Barn, 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]