MMO979 - Post-medieval water meadow at Daws Farm (Monument)

Water meadow system of probable post-medieval date, visible on vertical aerial photographs at Daws Farm, often called catch or field gutter systems. Such water meadows are commonly found on combe or hill slopes and are designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring, stream or river. The water was carried along the slopes by the gutters and when irrigation was required the gutters were blocked, causing water to overflow from gutter to gutter, thereby evenly irrigating the slopes. This film of water prevented the ground freezing during the winter and raised the temperature of the soil in the spring thereby encouraging an early growth of grass, particularly important during the hungry gap of March and April. [1-4] 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]