MMO2722 - Post-medieval water meadow east of Muxworthy (Monument)

A possible post-medieval water meadow system is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks. This system does not appear to be connected to any local farmyards, suggesting that this was a detached system.

A possible post-medieval water meadow system, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks in fields east of Muxworthy, Brayford. Centred at approximately SS 7147 3767, three gutters are visible, including one long contour leat which appears to lead from the spring at SS 7154 3770. The gutters follow the contours of a steep south facing slope above Foxhole Combe and extend across art least two fields, covering an area of up to 1 hectare. The long contour leat may in fact be a "headmain" or carriage gutter which supplied water to the catchwater meadow systems around Muxworthy and Muxworthy Cottage to the west (see MMO2721 and MMO2720). There is no indication 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]