The Crown Estate is looking to sell the renowned Laxton Estate ­— the only remaining example of Medieval farming in England ­— after admitting it may not be the best owner.

The Crown Estate exclusively told the Advertiser the estate may be better off as a heritage asset and that running it was not turning enough of a profit for the Treasury.

Laxton is the country’s last working feudal village.

It has a series of open, unhedged fields divided into lengths known as furlongs, which are sub-divided into flatts ­— a system once common-place throughout the country.

Farmers own flatts in various furlongs in each field, which are policed annually by a jury to ensure farmers are not encroaching on each other’s land.

Laxton Court Leet ­— the only court of its kind in the world ­— enforces farming rules dating back to Medieval times.

Farmers convene for the ancient court at the village pub.

Such is the significance of Laxton, doubts over its future have come to the attention of the Environment Secretary, Michael Gove.

The Crown Estate has owned the Laxton Estate since 1981, when it gave an undertaking to Parliament to support the open-field system.

About a third of the village population is understood to be linked to The Crown Estate, either owning or working a rented farm or living in a tied property.

Fourteen of 15 farms are said to be in Crown ownership.

The chairman of Laxton and Moorhouse Parish Council, Mr Mike Manning, who has lived in Laxton since 1973, said: “It is beholden upon us, knowing that there is a problem, to do all that we can to resolve it.

“We must do our best to save Laxton. It is a fabulous place. I could not sleep at night if we did not try.”

Established by an Act of Parliament, The Crown Estate is a £13bn real estate business specialising in commercial property in central London, prime regional retail and offshore wind farms.

It also has a substantial rural and coastal portfolio.

All profits go to the Treasury for the benefit of the nation, which has totalled £2.6bn over the last ten years.

'It may be better managed as a heritage asset'

A spokesman for The Crown Estate said: “As a commercial real estate business, tasked with delivering strong returns to the Treasury, The Crown Estate is focused on sectors where it has scale and expertise and can therefore best deliver value.

“The Laxton Estate, which operates the UK’s last remaining example of open field system farming, requires specialist management and ongoing investment, to preserve its unique model and heritage.

“As such, we recognise that it may be better managed as a heritage asset.

“We will continue to work closely with key local and national partners, including those who live and work there, as well as DEFRA, to understand the future needs of the estate and the best way forward.”

Mr Alistair Millar, Laxton Court Leet steward and a solicitor at Tallents Solicitors in Southwell, said the national significance of the Laxton system could not be underestimated.

Mr Millar said: “What few people know is that the 1977 Administration of Justice Act did away with all court systems apart from Laxton and one, I believe, in Wales.

“What we have today is the county, magistrates, crown, high court and Laxton.

“There are unique pressures The Crown Estate needs to manage.”

Laxton’s farms are small by today’s standards at around 120 to 140 acres.

In the 1950s, when ownership passed from Earl Manvers to the Department of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, farms of that size were more common ­— and profitable.

Today, however, the yield from the farms is roughly the same as it was then. They cannot compete with bigger arable farms and struggle to make enough to pay the rents on the farmhouses that accompany the land.

“These holdings are not full-size farms that can be sustained as businesses,” Mr Millar said.

“Each is not enough for the farmer to be able to sustain themselves as regular farmers can by growing crops on a huge scale.

“The difficulty in managing the system is balancing maintaining the tradition and heritage with modernisation, which is in itself against what the Laxton system stands for.

“A large part of what happens are the education visits. I am 48 now, but I remember going on one when I was ten.”

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'It could be a national heritage site for farming'

The MP for Newark, Mr Robert Jenrick, whose new role as a Treasury Minister involves oversight of The Crown Estate, believes Laxton has huge potential.

“It is a sleeping beauty in Nottinghamshire known and appreciated locally as a lovely village populated by good people, but it has so much potential to be more than that,” said Mr Jenrick.

“That potential is to be an exemplar of heritage methods at a time when there is unprecedented interest across the country in small farms, soil quality and organic farming.

“It could be a national heritage site for farming.

“The new custodian needs to have a clear and well-formed vision for it and the wherewithal to deliver it. It isn’t a museum and doesn’t need to become one.

“What we have to find is an answer that will last in perpetuity — not just the next ten to 20 years but someone in whose hands we are happy for it to rest for the next 100.

“I will use what influence I have with Michael Gove to make sure it is an outcome we can be comfortable with.”

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