MMO2571 - Post-medieval water meadow southeast of Bougam Farm (Monument)

A post-medieval water meadow system, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks south of Bougam Farm, Timberscombe. Centred at approximately SS 9607 4124, four gutters are visible, located on a steep west facing slope. The gutters were apparently supplied with water from a spring and stream to the south, before draining into a second stream to the west at the bottom of the slope. There is no evidence that this system was 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 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. [1-3] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [4]