MMO1762 - Post-medieval water meadow east of Oaremead Farm (Monument)

A post-medieval water meadow of a type known locally as a catchwork or catch meadow system can be seen on aerial photographs as a series of roughly parallel water channels, or gutters, centred on SS 7980 4779 to the east of Oaremead Farm. Catchwork systems are usually found on steep combe sides and are designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream along the valley sides via a series of channels or gutters. This water meadow system was probably fed from Oare Water. When irrigation was required, the gutters were blocked causing water to overflow, 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 the March and April. Any excess water then returned to the feeder stream at the valley bottom or was removed by a tail drain. The use of parallel gutters to improve the coverage, as seen here, is a common feature of Exmoor systems. This system also appears to be an example of a `detached system', where the water meadow is not attached to its farmstead and only distributed what liquid manure was carried to it. Although similar systems were operating elsewhere by the 17th century, this water meadow is probably 19th century in origin and probably continued in use well into the 20th Century, as can be seen at several similar systems visible in this area (see MMO1726, MMO1728, MMO1731 and MMO1720). This system may be associated with Oaremead Farm (MEM23133) or be part of an extensive system to the south of Oare Water, possibly associated with Oare Manor (see MSO11876). However, by 1972 it has been destroyed by ploughing associated with post-war agricultural improvements and hedgerow removal. [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]