MDE11685 - Post-medieval water meadow or leat on Cheriton Ridge (Monument)

SS 739 455. A contour-following leat noted by McDonnell [1] on aerial photographs [2] on the west side of Cheriton Ridge. [1,2] SS 7480 4301 to SS 7412 4500; SS 7417 4500 to SS 7376 4634. A catchwater leat used to irrigate spring grass on a west facing slope. It is some 3.5 km long, probably for early watering of fields (see MDE12856 and MMO350) and use at Cheriton Farm. The leat is shown on the Ordnance Survey maps dated 1888 [3] and 1904 [4]. No survey action was carried out. [6] The does not appear to continue as far north as Cheriton and therefore may not have been associated with watering here. Its precise function remains uncertain. [7-8] The leat runs from just north of the Forest boundary, where the remains of a collapsed stone bridge or sluice at the take off point can be seen at SS 74830. The northern end of the leat, where it leaves the common, has not been established, but the channel is substantial and takes water from several streams which flow into Hoaroak Water, suggesting it may have been built in the late 19th Century to power farm machinery at farms in Cheriton. [9] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [10,11]