Harlaxton is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the edge of the Vale of Belvoir and just off the A607, 2 miles (3 km) south-west from Grantham and 12 miles (19 km) north-east from Melton Mowbray.
Aerial photography has revealed that Harlaxton was the site of a unique neolithic long barrow enclosure that formed a cursus, believed to have been made of multiple rows of standing wooden columns. Dilwyn Jones has speculated that the form of the complex indicates that Harlaxton was an important inter-regional link during the neolithic period.
The village is mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book as "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. The history of Harlaxton village is tied to 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 was used as a hunting lodge by John of 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.
The life of the village was tied to that of the Lords of the Manor and the Estate, with many villagers employed by, and their houses and cottages tied to, the estate. This remained the case until 1937 when the estate was broken up. Many villagers had already found employment elsewhere by the time of the First World War, when transport improvements made this an option. Most of the older houses in the village were built by the De Ligne and Gregory families. The Nottingham to Grantham canal passes 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north of the village and was a source of commerce for the village in the early 19th century.
During the First World War 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.
Further information can be found on Wikipedia