MMO3777 - 19th Century water meadow south of Shircombe Farm (Monument)

A water-meadow of probable 19th century date is visible on aerial photographs as earthwork water-channels centred on circa SS 84563082, south of Shircombe Farm, with which it was possibly associated. The gutters form a type of water-meadow known as a catchwork, catch-water or field-gutter system. Such water-meadows are commonly found on combe or hill slopes and are designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring, stream or river. The water was carried along the slopes by the gutters and when irrigation was required the gutters were blocked, causing water to overflow from gutter to gutter, thereby evenly irrigating the slopes. This film of water prevented the ground freezing during the winter and raised the temperature of the soil in the spring thereby encouraging an early growth of grass, particularly important during the hungry gap of March and April. The gutters have probably been levelled by 1976. [1-4] 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]