The Open Field System

... THE OPEN FIELD SYSTEM The open field system is an ancient method of farming, which has been succeeded by newer, more advanced techniques. This system covered half the arable land in Britain at one time, mainly in the Midlands, East Anglia, Central and Southern England. Some areas had either never used this method or had been converted to the enclosure method previously. These areas included North Wales, Cornwall and the Lake District. The open field system consists usually of three large fields. The fields are divided up into strips of field. The strips are 200m in length, (one furlong or furrow long- the amount a team of oxen can plough without resting). Balks, grassy areas of land that were never ploughed, divided the strips. The weeds from these strips often spread in to the crops. At the end of each strip was an area of land called the headland that was used

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