Laxton Medieval Village Learning Resource

Laxton in Nottinghamshire is unique among the villages of England. It is the one place which has retained the medieval 'open field' system of farming down to the present day.

This site explores aspects of life in Laxton between 1635 and 1908. Despite the fact that Laxton was never fully enclosed, it was a typical example of a Midlands open field village and its history can therefore shed light on life in hundreds of similar places.

• Theme 1: Landholding and enclosure
• Theme 2: The open field system and the manorial court
• Theme 3: The Village Population

The resources include:

• Images and/or transcripts of original archive materials including maps, surveys, manorial and ecclesiastical court records, correspondence and reports
• Downloads for teachers
• Timeline
• Glossary
• Suggestions for further reading, including links to useful websites and a guide to archives relating to Laxton (PDF download)

Terms of Use and Credits

This site was developed by Manuscripts and Special Collections at the University of Nottingham, from an Archive Teaching Unit originally produced by the Department of Manuscripts between 1969 and 1975, and was published online in July 2008.

• More about the project
• Credits and Project Team
• Terms of use

Next page: Landholding and enclosure