MMO3115 - Post-medieval water meadow at Old Ashway (Monument)

A catchwork or field gutter system of probable 19th Century date is visible on aerial photographs. The system is relatively small, covering almost 6 hectares of combe slopes but probably tapped a tributary to the River Barle.

A water meadow of probable 19th century date is visible on aerial photographs as earthworks centred on circa SS 8820 3231, to the north of Old Ashway. 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 system is relatively small, covering almost 6 hectares of combe slopes. It probably tapped the tributary to the River Barle that flows to the north of the water meadow. As this also supplied two other nearby systems, a degree of organisation would have been required between farms. The gutters cannot be seen on aerial photographs of 1972. [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]