Bedwork water-meadow Flooded derelict bedwork water-meadow at Fordingbridge, Hampshire, England. Winter flooding has filled an old carrier channel along the crest of a ridge (running from right foreground to middle distance), and has also flooded the drainage channels (on left and into distance, where they join the river). In use, water would have seeped from the carrier channel on the right, through the grass in the foreground into the drainage channel on the left, which would have been almost empty. Bedwork or floated water-meadows were built on almost-level fields along broad river valleys , and required careful construction to ensure correct operation. A leat, called a main, carrier or top carrier, was used to divert water from the river and carry it down the valley at a gentler slope than the river, producing a hydrostatic head between the two. Mains were often along the edge of the valley, each main supplying up to about of the valley. The water from the main was used to supply many smaller carriers, on the crests of ridges built across the fields. The channel on the crest of each ridge would overflow slowly down the sides (the panes) of the ridge, the channel eventually tapering to an end at the tip of the ridge. The seeping water would then be collected between the ridges, in drains or drawns, these joining to form a bottom carrier or tail drain which returned the water to the river. The ridges and the drains made an interlocking grid (like interlaced fingers), but the ridge-top channels and the drains did not connect directly. A by-carrier took any water not needed for irrigation straight from the main back to the river. The ridges varied in height depending on the available head – usually from around . The pattern of carriers and drains was generally regular, but it was adapted to fit the natural topography of the ground and the locations of suitable places for the offtake and return of water.
Bedwork water-meadow Flooded derelict bedwork water-meadow at Fordingbridge, Hampshire, England. Winter flooding has filled an old carrier channel along the crest of a ridge (running from right foreground to middle distance), and has also flooded the drainage channels (on left and into distance, where they join the river). In use, water would have seeped from the carrier channel on the right, through the grass in the foreground into the drainage channel on the left, which would have looked almost empty. Bedwork or floated water-meadows were built on almost-level fields along broad river valleys ; they required careful construction to ensure correct operation. A leat, called a main, carrier or top carrier, diverted water from the river and carried it down the valley at a gentler slope than the river, producing a hydrostatic head between the two. Mains were often along the edge of the valley, each main supplying up to about of the valley. The water from the main was used to supply many smaller carriers, on the crests of ridges built across the fields. The channel on the crest of each ridge would overflow slowly down the sides (the panes) of the ridge, the channel eventually tapering to an end at the tip of the ridge. The seeping water would then collect between the ridges, in drains or drawns, these joining to form a bottom carrier or tail drain which returned the water to the river. The ridges and the drains made an interlocking grid (like interlaced fingers), but the ridge-top channels and the drains did not connect directly. A by-carrier took any water not needed for irrigation straight from the main back to the river. The ridges varied in height depending on the available head – usually from around . The pattern of carriers and drains was generally regular, but it was adapted to fit the natural topography of the ground and the locations of suitable places for the offtake and return of water.
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