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Are we down the Drift at Harlaxton?
yes
Primarily a coal wharf at Harlaxton. The tripod on the wharf side was used to hang weighing scales, on which coal was weighed into more manageable proportions for distribution – having been unloaded from the boats.
Coal was brought in from the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire coalfields via the Erewash and Nottingham canals.
One canal carrier engaged in this work were the Pearson family who also ran the Rutland Arms (Dirty Duck), Woolsthorpe by Belvoir.
Landlord at the Gregory Arms, Harlaxton was the coal merchant for Harlaxton Wharf. The rather substantial brick built bus shelter attached to the pub was in fact the coal office. One of the biggest users of coal at Harlaxton would have been the manor, which had its own indoor railway in its roof for distributing the coal internally.
Wharf House in the picture is an unusual shape – having windows in the corners. This is so the wharfinger could keep an eye on the wharf – this design is typical of wharf and toll houses around the canal system.
Once disused, the wharf became the village ‘ash pit’ – broken glass and pottery are still much in evidence in the soil. A group was set up to restore the wharf in recent years, headed up by Peter Hawkins, the Harlaxton Wharf Community Space Group, raised the funding and saw the work through to completion.
The group now exists to manage the wharf for its ecology – they could do with one or two more volunteers.
The wharf is used by the Grantham Canal Society as a stop off point on four hour cruises along the canal. It’s a lovely spot in which to take a packed lunch and while away an hour in the spring/summer under the dappled sunlight the wharf provides – an oasis in the hustle and bustle of daily life.
Tony Jackson
Grantham Canal Society