MMO2892 - Post-medieval water meadow south of Honeymead Farm (Monument)

A post-medieval water meadow, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks. This system is believed to have been created by the Knight family, dating to the 1850s.

A post-medieval water meadow system, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks lying due south of Honeymead Farm, Exmoor. Centred at approximately SS 7958 3890, a large number of narrow gutters can be seen following the contours of the south and southeast facing slopes above an unnamed tributary of White Water. A large leat at the eastern edge of the system seems to connect the system with the farmyard at Honeymead, suggesting that this was an integrated system which also distributed liquid manure as fertiliser to the fields. 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. Many of the mid 19th Century farms on Exmoor built by the the Knight family have extensive and complex water meadow systems, and they are believed to date to the 1850s, after Robert Smith, an expert in water meadows, took up his post as Agent for the family. [1-5] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [6]