MSO8188 - Post-medieval water meadow west of Combe Sydenham (Monument)

Leats and channels making up a water meadow system, probably 16th or 17th Century date. [1] At the north end there are many sluices with leats marked on the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map. [2] A post medieval water meadow system, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks south west of Combe Sydenham, Stogumber. Centred at approximately ST 0743 3711, two gutters are visible running north-south along a west facing slope. The system covers an area of approximately 2.9 hectares, but does not appear to be connected to any local farmyards, suggesting that this was a detached system, which only distributed water to the fields and not liquid manure or other fertilisers. [3,4] 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]