MMO3106 - 19th Century water meadow north of Slade Barn (Monument)

Two short ditches are visible on aerial photographs as earthworks centred at circa SS 8556 3027 to the northeast of Zeal farm. These are probably gutters forming a small water meadow of probable 19th Century date, possibly associated with Zeal farm. This is a type of water meadow known as catchwork or field gutter system, commonly found on combe or hill slopes and designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream. The water is carried along the valley sides via one or more channels or gutters and 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 March and April. The water meadow is not marked on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map but may be contemporary with a larger system associated with Zeal farm which partly is. The gutters remain visible on aerial photographs of 1969. [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]