MMO1733 - Post-medieval water meadow southeast of Dean (Monument)

A post-medieval water meadow is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks. There is no evidence that this system is connected to any nearby farmyards, suggesting that this was a detached system.

A post-medieval water meadow is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks in a field to the west of Higher Cowley Farm. Centred at approximately SS 6323 4508, the system consists of at least two ditches, known as gutters, stretching across a steep east facing field above Dean Water. Both gutters measure approximately 120 metres long. These roughly parallel gutters were used to distribute flowing water over the surface of the meadow in order to encourage early growth in spring and prevent freezing in winter. There is no evidence that this system is connected to any nearby farmyards, suggesting that this was a detached system, which was not capable of distributing liquid manure as fertiliser as well as water, unless the manure was manually carried to it. The gutters probably drained into Dean Water, 30 metres to the east. [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] The water meadow system was probably associated with the deserted settlement of Silkenworthy which lies immediately to the south, as depicted on the Tithe Map and OS 1st Edition mapping, and may have originally have been attached to a farmyard there. The plot (number 167) is named as 'Shady Meadow' in the Tithe Map Apportionment Book of 1840 and described as being 'pasture'. Woodland is shown to be developing at the southern end of the plot towards the end of the 19th century [5,6,7]