It was published in the Melton Times Coronation Commemorative Pictorial Review in 1911 and shows the wharf in Burton Street where the bridge now is.
Jenny Thorn emailed in, saying: "Upon looking through the photographs shown on the internet, the astounding view of Burton Street which shows the basin is, as you suspected, much earlier.
"I had seen this picture before and on looking in the Melton Mowbray Album confirms that it is almost identical to the one shown and is dated in the 1880s. I hope this helps."
Further research reveals the basin was the end of the Melton Mowbray Navigation.
Work on the River Wreake made it navigable, similar to a canal, and opened in 1797, linking Melton to the River Soar and the Leicester Navigation near Syston.
In 1803, it was connected to the newly built Oakham canal, improving Melton's trade, but it was a relatively short-lived enterprise because of the advent of railways.