MMO3206 - Post-medieval water meadow south of Middle Twitchen Ball (Monument)

A post medieval water meadow system, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks. This system appears to be an integrated system with the farmyard at Middle Twitchen Ball.

A post-medieval water meadow system, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks south of Middle Twitchen Ball, Twitchen. Centred at approximately SS 7830 3150, four leats are visible, running north to south along the contours of the slope. This system appears to be connected to the farmyard at Middle Twitchen Ball, suggesting that this was an integrated system which also distributed liquid manure as fertiliser to the fields. A nearby pond may also have been part of the system. 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]