John Beckett discusses strip farming on 'Countryfile'

John Beckett appeared on BBC1’s 'Countryfile' programme on Sunday 14 June 2015, where he was interviewed by Matt Baker.

The feature was about the countryside at the time of Magna Carta in 1215, and the 'Countryfile' team focussed on the Nottinghamshire village of Laxton, which John has been associated with for many years. Countryfile were keen to know whether the farming taking place today is similar to the way that farmers would have worked in 1215, and they chose Laxton because it is the only place in England which still has the old open fields (strip farming), with a working manor court (a court leet).

John was able to give viewers an idea of what farming was like in the village 800 years ago, and then a specially convened Court Leet was held for the cameras, to give an idea of the long history of this venerable institution. All of the farmers turned out, and the Court fined Matt Baker £5 for turning up late!

The programme is available to view online until 20 July 2015. John appears 5 minutes 50 seconds into the programme.