Laxton History

​Laxton is a small village in Nottinghamshire, England.  It is best known for having the last remaining working open field system in the United Kingdom.  Laxton is unique because this open field system is still in use today.  Although the village is now recognised as an important heritage site, it is home to working farmers who rely on the land for their income. While modern expectations and needs mean that all the farmers own land outside the open fields, the open fields are not part of a museum or showcase but a living part of the agricultural landscape.  Over time, strips have been consolidated to provide workable parcels of land, however, the practical aspects of open field farming are still very much what they would have been 500 years ago.

Thomas Laxton (1830–1893) was a plant breeder and a correspondent of Charles Darwin. He was best known for his hybridisation of peas.  Two of his sons, William Hudson Lowe Laxton (1866–1923) and Edward Augustine Lowe Laxton MBE (1869–1951) went into partnership to form Laxton Brothers in 1888.  They were notable horticulturists, pioneers of plant breeding and experts on fruit production creating several new strains of fruit including pears, plums, currants, strawberries, Laxton’s Superb apples and the award-winning Lord Lambourne apple.

You can read more about the Laxtons here.

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So you see, it is not just my passion, but my namesake to grow food.

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My sourdough rollercoaster began in 2015.  I started baking sourdough so that I could eat bread. Having a wheat intolerance, it's really difficult to find good bread.  Many years, much research, trial & error and good advice later, it is now ready to share.  I don't think there is such a thing as 'mastering' the sourdough.  It is a perpetual voyage. 

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Georgia Munro-Laxton.