MMO2687 - 19th Century water meadow northeast of Well Farm (Monument)

A possible water meadow of probable 19th Century origin is visible on aerial photographs immediately to the northeast of Well Farm, centred on circa SS 9447 4209. This is a type of water meadow known as catchwork or field gutter system, commonly found on combe or hill slopes and designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream. The water is carried along the valley sides via one or more channels or gutters and when irrigation was required the gutters were blocked, causing water to overflow from gutter to gutter, thereby irrigating the slopes. This film of water prevented the ground freezing during the winter and raised the temperature of the grass in the spring, thereby encouraging early growth, particularly important during the hungry gap of March and April. The gutters of this system follow the contours of a small spur of land northeast of Well Farm, supplied with water from both sides by the spring fed streams that most likely shaped the landscape. It is possible that this is an example of what has been called an integrated system, whereby the water passed through a farmyard to collect manure before distributing it on the slopes. [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]