MSO8654 - Post-medieval water meadow system at Gupworthy Farm (Monument)

A post-medieval water meadow system, known locally as a catchwater meadow, is visible on aerial photographs as a series of earthworks at Gupworthy Farm, Withycombe. Centred at approximately SS 992 408, gutters are visible in two fields immediately north of the farm, apparently following the contours of the north facing slope. The gutters appear to have been fed from a spring visible within the yard at Gupworthy Farm, 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. [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]