Feudal lord: The estate comes with powers such as a seat on the Leet court and the ability to imposing fines. Photo, Christophel Fine Art / Getty Images
Feudal lord: The estate comes with powers such as a seat on the Leet court and the ability to imposing fines. Photo, Christophel Fine Art / Getty Images
The UK's last remaining feudal village complete with 17 traditional red brick farms, 10 cottages, a pub and even the title of lord of the manor is up for sale for £7million ($14m).
Laxton in Nottinghamshire is an 1,845-acre heritage estate which dates back to 1066 when the manor was granted to Geoffrey Alselin by William the Conqueror.
In 1981 the Crown Estate purchased Laxton to try and maintain the open field strip farming system and the village is now the only place left in the country to farm in this way, reports the Guardian.
The layout of Laxton has barely changed in hundreds of years and the same families have worked the land for generations.
Laxton in Nottinghamshire is the UK's last open field tythe village. Photo / www.uklandandfarms.co.uk
Stuart Rose's family has farmed in the area for 400 years and he hopes his own daughters will continue the tradition - as well as the new lord of the manor.
However Mr Rose, who runs Bottom Farm in West Field, Laxton, understands farming isn't the same as it was when his own grandfather was working the land and said that the average age of a resident in Laxton now is 65.
He said: "Fifty years ago, farming here was a living for two generations. Now, a farm like ours is a part-time job for one person.
"Obviously it's far less economical to have fields cut up into little strips – my sprayer is wider than some of my strips. But this is the only remaining example of open-field farming in Europe."
Laxton's long upheld traditions may not be the most practical or economical for the modern day farming. Photo / www.uklandandfarms.co.uk
A copy of a 1635 map of the village held in Oxford's Bodleian library hangs in Laxton's village museum - which also comes included in the sale - and explains in bright colours the strips of farming land worked by various families.
The Estate tenants operate "in common", using a three year crop rotation including winter wheat, oil seed rape and fallow over three open fields across the Estate.
These three open fields, divided into strips, are farmed by the dedicated tenants of the Laxton estate.
Owld park: Laxton dates back to 1066 when the manor was gifted by William the Conqueror. Photo / www.uklandandfarms.co.uk
Although territory is marked on the map, out in the fields there is nothing to mark the boundaries but the farmers can rely on a traditional manorial court to keep everyone in line.
The historical estate maintains a manorial court – the lowest court in English law – to impose fines on farmers who have strayed on to others strips of land or left rubbish in the fields, reports the Guardian.
Manorial court: Feudal affairs are settled in the town pub, the Dovecote Inn. Photo / www.uklandandfarms.co.uk
The leet court of Laxton is the only one left in the country that still has powers and can levy fines ranging from 2p to £20 ( around $40).
Laxton Court Leet meet twice annually, for "Jury Day" and Court. Jury Day takes place on the last Thursday in November and is made up of thirteen members including a Foreman.
In a brochure given to potential buyers, the manor is said to earn in excess of $460,000 a year and be of "significant educational and curatorial interest."
Whoever the new buyer may be they will have to be committed to maintaining its historical way or working.
A spokesperson for the Crown Estate said its focus would be on "finding an appropriate purchaser who values Laxton's unique role and history and who is fully committed to preserving it for the future."
Laxton's village museum is also included in the sale - explaining the strips of farming. Photo / www.uklandandfarms.co.uk
The brochure on the unique estate explains how the purchaser will be "required to clearly demonstrate the same intention to perpetually maintain the open field system through a positive relationship with present and future tenants and other local stakeholders."
It is thought that the estate could be worth more than $40m and possibly as much as $100m if it were not for the legal covenants and "sympathetic rents".
St Michael the Archangel's Church, central to the Laxton Feudal estate. Photo / Getty images
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