MMO2342 - Post-medieval water meadow west of Ashcombe Bottom (Monument)

A post-medieval water meadow system, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks on the western slopes above Ashcombe Bottom, Exmoor. Centred at approximately SS 7730 4004, four gutters are visible, covering an area of approximately 0.8 hectares. The gutters appear to drain into Ashcombe Bottom, but there is no indication of how they were supplied with water. This system does not appear to be connected to any local farmyards, suggesting that this was a detached system which only distributed water to the fields and not liquid manure or other fertilisers. Catchwater meadows used a series of approximately parallel gutters were used 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. This water meadow most likely dates to the mid 19th Century and was part of the Knight family agricultural improvements in the area. A land agent employed by the Knight family from 1848 onwards was considered an expert in irrigation and catch water meadows. [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]