History
The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book dated 1086 and called Herlavestune. The name derives from the Old English Herelaf+tun, meaning "estate or farm of Herelaf". In 1740 a burial urn was uncovered in the village containing Roman coins so it seems likely that a settlement existed here since then. The history of Harlaxton village is tied up with that of Harlaxton Manor.
The original manor house dated from the 14th century and stood south of the church off Rectory Lane where the original moat can still be seen in gardens there. It is recorded as having been used as a hunting lodge by John O Gaunt. It was purchased and occupied by the De Ligne family around 1475 eventually standing empty from 1780 until 1857 when it was pulled down. By this time the present Harlaxton Manor had been built some distance to the East of the village.
As is the case in so many English villages the fortunes of the village was intrinsically tied up with those of the Lords of the Manor and the Estate. Many of the villagers would have been employed in a variety of posts by the estate and their houses and cottages tied to or rented by the estate. This remained the case in Harlaxton until 1937 when the estate was broken up. Many of the villages had already found employment elsewhere by World War I when transport improvements made this a reasonable option. The bulk of the older houses in the village were built by the De Ligne and Gregory families. The Nottingham to Grantham canal passes a mile to the north of the village and was a valuable source of commerce for the village in the early 19th century.
During World War I a Royal Flying Corps aerodrome was constructed at the rear of the manor house. The airfield stood vacant between the wars but became RAF Harlaxton between 1942 and 1957, latterly operating as a relief landing ground for flying training units from RAF Cranwell.
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