MMO326 - Post-medieval water meadow southwest of Bentwitchen (Monument)

At least two ?catchwater leats, centred at SS 7293 3405, on steep west facing slopes to the west of Bentwichen. They extend for at least 260m in length. The best preserved leat is some 0.5m in depth and is formed by a cut into the natural slope with a sharply defined bank on its downslope side. [1] A post-medieval water meadow system, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks southwest of Bentwitchen, North Molton. Centred at approximately SS 7293 3405, at least four leats are visible extending across three fields and covering an area of some 4.5 hectares. The gutters follow the contours of the slope and run approximately northwest to southeast. The system appears to have been connected to the farmyard at Bentwitchen, 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. 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. [2-4] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [5]