MMO385 - Post-medieval water meadow northeast of Knighton Farm (Monument)

A water-meadow of probable post-medieval date is visible on aerial photographs as earthworks. It may be a combination of catchworks and bed works, with the gutters tapping a spring fed stream but emptying into the Barle.

A water meadow system was seen on aerial photographs to the northeast of Knighton Farm. [1,2] A water meadow of probable post-medieval date is visible on aerial photographs as earthworks to the northwest of Knighton, centred on circa SS 8326 3552. In total the water meadow covers an area of circa 5 hectares, but it may be a combination of two different forms of irrigation; catch works and bed works. The former can be seen below the farm cover over 3 hectares of the northeast facing slopes of the Barle valley and is the most common type found on Exmoor. Also known as a ditch gutter or field gutter systems, these are designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring, stream or river along the slopes via a series of roughly parallel channels or gutters. When irrigation was required the gutters were blocked, causing water to overflow from gutter to gutter, thereby irrigating the slopes. In contrast, the earthworks visible on the valley floor adjacent to the River Barle resemble bedworks, a form of irrigation more commonly found in lowland zones and in lying situations such as valley floors. Typically bedworks abstract water directly from a river via a system of parallel gutters and sluices. In this instance, it appears the gutters tap a spring fed stream but empty into the Barle. In both methods the resultant film of water prevented the ground freezing during the winter and raised the temperature of the grass in the spring, thereby encouraging early growth and higher stocking levels. They are particularly important during the hungry gap of March to April and bedworks can produce multiple hay crops. [1,3-5] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [6]