MAIDEN NEWTON WATER  MEADOW

Brief history

 Water Meadows were first developed in the 16th and 17th centuries as a method of gaining an early crop of grass for sheep and cattle to graze.  The meadow would be flooded, normally in February, using sluices to control water levels and flow. This would prevent the grass from freezing over and allow some new growth for early grazing. In the 20th century this farming practice started to decline as more land became arable.  

Description of site

The site is 4.2 acres, bounded on three sides by rivers and on the forth by the disused railway line.  The water meadows are about 200 years old and were "abandoned" in the mid 1950s. There are four basic habitat types, neutral grassland, wet tall herb, hedgerow/woodland and running/standing water. Our management will enhance all these areas. Sheep grazing will reduce the amount of wet tall herb and increase the neutral grassland decreasing the amount of course aggressive species and allowing more of the finer grasses and herbs to flourish. Once the water meadow has been "floated" it is hoped that the number of plant, mammal and bird life will increase. The nationally rare moth Blairs Wainscot is locally abundant and many other rare species of beetle and fresh water life have been recorded. Careful recording of species has been started and will continue as the meadows develop. There is public access from the Wessex ridgeway path and from the walkers car park at Rock Pit Farm.  

Interview with Andy Elliot, Countryside Ranger

In the spring and summer of 2000 2 sheep died on the site and so the farmer took all the sheep off. This lack of grazing resulted in more growth than normal for the undesirable plants and herbs. The site needs a combination of grazing and high water levels to keep at bay the more vigorous undesirable plants.  The head main has yet to be connected to the river with a sluice control gate and is waiting for permission from the Rivers Authority.  The simple water level sluices installed in the over-grown meadow have been very successful in keeping the water levels high enough for the Blairs Wainscot moth to keep breeding.  The stakes and willow whips planted in the river banks have collected silt and the banks are now starting to build up again rather then erode. Some of the young whips have rooted and will help to stabilise the banks. This winter the river has been 2m above its normal height and the first serious flooding since 1978 has taken place. See also:  Water Meadows: a brief general history plus details of the Maiden Newton Water Meadows - Newsletter No 105 - July - October 1998, and Maiden Newton Water meadow - an update - Newsletter No 113 - July - September 2000