Harlaxton - Buildings and Amenities

Buildings and Amenities

After 1857 many of the buildings utilised building materials from the demolished manor house. Between 1758 and 1822 George De Ligne was responsible for the building and repair of much of the village including the rows of cottages on The Drift near the Nottingham to Grantham canal; his initials can be seen on the cottages. Originally wattle and daub, they were refinished by De Ligne in red brick as are many of the buildings in the village, with added embellishments of stonework. No less than 36 of the dwellings in the village are grade 2 listed. There are a significant number of unusual architectural features in the older buildings including distinctive chimneys, rounded pillars and overstated porches and verandas. There are statues in gardens, listed gazebos, a duck pond, and substantial dry stone walls. Near the village store is a pillar on a double base known as the obelisk which is likely the remains of a market cross. Piped water was not introduced until the 1940s and some of the wells previously used survive. One of the gateways to the original manor house still stands on Rectory Lane.

Since WWII the village grew considerably in size and population with several small developments either side of the main Grantham / Melton Mowbray road. It now has a population of just over 700. There is a post office, church, primary school, doctor’s surgery, village store and village hall. There is also a sports and social club and a bowls club. Although there was already the Golden Lion public house in the centre of the village, in the latter part of the 19th century the Gregory Arms was built by the Squire John Sherwin Gregory on what is now the A607 junction.