The Watermeadows Project

The Brief

The brief was to create a user friendly guide on the history and the workings of the water meadows along the Wylye valley, near Warminster, Wiltshire.

Filming

As part of the project we filmed a number of local experts including archaeologists and historians who explained the early evidence for the control of water from the prehistoric period right through to the 17th century creation of the water meadows.

Educational Interactive

We also created an educational interactive which included a 3d animation sequence showing how the water meadows operate. This helped to demonstrate the history of these systems and explain how they operated, to younger audiences – this helped to ensure that younger members of the community were able to engage with the heritage.

Spotters Guide

We also created a visual spotters guide which could be downloaded and used when out walking along the river. The guide provided a visual references as to what to look out for when out on a walk.

What is a Watermeadow?

A Watermeadow is a field by a river which has been altered to allow river water in winter, to flow over it in a controlled manner. The chalk geology and landscape of the West Country meant that this historic system of using and controlling river water during the winter and early spring worked particularly well.

The river water which was usually warmer than the colder air, protected the grass from frost, allowing it to grow at a time of year when it usually didn’t. This gave the farm animals more to eat, as well as stopping uncontrolled flooding from making the river meadows unusable.

Watermeadows are a special part of our landscape in the south west of England. A Watermeadow is a field by a river which has been altered to allow river water in winter, to flow over it in a controlled manner.

The chalk geology and landscape of the West Country meant that this historic system of using and controlling river water during the winter and early spring worked particularly well. The river water which was usually warmer than the colder air, protected the grass from frost, allowing it to grow at a time of year when it usually didn’t. This gave the farm animals more to eat, as well as stopping uncontrolled flooding from making the river meadows unusable.

Even today the channels that were cut to divert the flow of water can be seen from the ground and the air and people who use the rivers today, can see the remains of the structures and hatches that were created hundreds of years ago.

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