In the early 17th century Puddletown was one of the first places in Dorset where the use of watermeadows developed; the practice occurred at least as early as 1620, and in 1629 the manorial court decided to allow some tenants to continue making the necessary watercourses that would enable "the watering and Improvinge of theire groundes". Watermeadows are generally no longer used in southern England, though their physical remnants have persisted in many places; in Puddletown civil parish, several areas of watermeadow were shown by the Ordnance Survey as late as 1978, though none was shown in 2010.