MMO2565 - Post-medieval catchwork water meadow north of Longcombe Farm (Monument)

A post-medieval water meadow system, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks in fields north of the deserted settlement of Longcombe Farm (see MSO9117). Centred at approximately SS 9869 4142, up to four gutters are visible on a steep northeast facing slope above an unnamed stream. The gutters appear to follow the contours of the slope fairly closely, and vary in length from 130 to 280 metres. This system may have been connected to the farmyard at Longcombe, and therefore may have been 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. It seems likely that this system was abandoned around the same time as Longcombe Farm, some time after 1889. [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]