MMO3011 - Post-medieval water meadow north of Mill Bridge (Monument)

A possible water-meadow of post-medieval date is visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s, to the north of Mill Bridge, Withypool, at circa SS 8474 3565. Two water-channels, known as gutters, can be seen following the contours of the combe slopes for circa 35 metres, from the corners of a field to the east of Royal Oak Cottage, formerly the Royal Oak Inn. It is probably of a type known as a catch work, ditch gutter or field gutter system, which are typically found on combe or hill slopes. They are designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream along the slope via the roughly parallel channels or gutters. 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 the March and April. The gutters have probably now been destroyed by building development. [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]