Castle Donington

Last updated

Castle Donington
St Edward King & Martyr, Castle Donington.JPG
Parish church of St Edward, King and Martyr
Leicestershire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Castle Donington
Location within Leicestershire
Population7,346 (2021 census) [1]
OS grid reference SK446272
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Derby
Postcode district DE74
Dialling code 01332
Police Leicestershire
Fire Leicestershire
Ambulance East Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Leicestershire
52°50′40″N1°20′16″W / 52.8444°N 1.3377°W / 52.8444; -1.3377

Castle Donington is a market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England, on the edge of the National Forest and close to East Midlands Airport.

Contents

Etymology

The name 'Donington' means 'farm/settlement connected with Dunna'. Another suggestion is that it could means 'farm/settlement at the hill place'. [2]

History

King's Mill, the nearby crossing on the River Trent, is mentioned in a charter issued by Æthelred the Unready in 1009 regarding the boundaries of Weston-on-Trent. [3] Dunintune or Dunitone is mentioned twice in the Domesday Book of 1086 as having land belonging to Countess Ælfgifu and land assigned to Earl Hugh. [4] It is called Castoldonyngtoin in a duchy of Lancaster warrant of 1484.

In 1278, King Edward I granted a charter for a weekly market and an annual Wakes Fair. The Fair continues in Borough Street for three days each October.

Lace-making was an important industry up until the 1850s, when a sharp decline in the population is recorded. The population did not recover to the same level until a century later when in 1950 over 3,000 people are recorded as living in the village.

Bondgate, Borough Street, and Clapgun Street formed the nucleus of the historic village, with the Castle formerly standing at the eastern end of Borough Street on Castle Hill. It was abandoned and its stone used to build Donington Hall within Donington Park.

In the early 1960s local councils from Derby, Nottingham, and Leicester were seeking a suitable site to build an airport for the region. The former RAF Castle Donington, to the south of the village, was chosen and land purchased in the parishes of Kegworth, Hemington and Lockington to form an enclosed site now forming East Midlands Airport. The airport opened in 1965 and is now the tenth largest airport in the UK, the second-largest in terms of freight and cargo. The airport site is now an important economic center and a major employer in the area.

Power station, demolished in 1996 Castle Donington Power Station.jpg
Power station, demolished in 1996

Castle Donington Power Station was built in 1958 as one of the largest coal-fired power stations in Europe. It was closed in September 1994 and demolished in 1996.

Education

Castle Donington has three primary schools, St Edwards, Foxbridge, and Orchard, the latter serving the majority of the children of the town. Castle Donington College, which welcomed KS4 for the first time in 2017, takes students from ages 11–16 and is the village's only secondary school.

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East Midlands and ITV Central. Television signals are received from the Waltham TV transmitter. [5] The town is served by both BBC Radio Leicester on 104.9 FM and BBC Radio Derby on 104.5 FM. Other radio stations including Capital East Midlands on 102.8 FM, Smooth East Midlands on 101.4 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Midlands on 106.0 FM, and Hermitage FM, a community based station which broadcast on 99.2 FM. [6] The town is served by the local newspapers, Leicester Mercury and Derby Telegraph (formerly Castle Donington Messenger). [7] Castle Donington Life is an independently owned local community magazine serving Castle Donington and surrounding areas. [8]

Transport and housing

Castle Donington stands on the former Nottingham to Birmingham trunk road. The town is a mix of the old and new, with modern shops mixed with dignified Georgian and Regency houses. Several timber-framed houses dating from the 17th century and earlier survive along the main road.

The town has no rail station, but East Midlands Parkway opened early in 2008 at Ratcliffe-on-Soar providing links on the Midland Main Line.

In 1868 the Midland Railway opened the Castle Donington Line, which included Castle Donington and Shardlow railway station, on the northern edge of the town. The station was closed to regular passenger traffic in 1930, and closed completely and demolished in 1968. The access driveway still exists but for pedestrians only, and is the start of a footpath to Hemington, running past the site of the old goods yard, now a scrap yard. The railway remains open for substantial flows of freight traffic as an alternative to the route via Derby.

Economy

The Lamb Inn The Lamb Castle Donington.jpg
The Lamb Inn

East Midlands Airport is served by several airlines including Ryanair, Jet2.Com, Thomson Airways and Thomas Cook Airlines. The express parcels company DHL has a base at the airport.[ citation needed ] The now-defunct airline flybmi formerly had its head office at Pegasus Business Park on the airport grounds. [9]

Donington Park motor racing circuit is located to the south west of the village.

The site of the former power station has been redeveloped in to a major retail distribution hub and warehousing area. The principal tenant is Marks and Spencer.

Since 2013 Norton Motorcycles has its head office in Donington Hall. [10] BMI (British Midland), an airline, was headquartered in Donington Hall. [11] The airline moved its headquarters to Donington Hall in 1982. [12] The subsidiary bmibaby also had its head office in Donington Hall. [13]

Events

The annual May Bank Holiday Medieval Market takes place in Borough Street and includes local stalls selling various kinds of produce and goods accompanied by dancing and music.

Donington Park was the original venue for the Monsters of Rock festivals through the 1980s and 1990s, and is now the home of the annual Download Festival. It also hosted a Formula One Grand Prix –The European Grand Prix  –in April 1993, which was won by Ayrton Senna. It was also set to be the home of the British Grand Prix from 2010 for at least 10 years, [14] but the agreement was cancelled due to financial problems. [15] The circuit formerly hosted the Donington Grand Prix Collection, at the time the world's largest collection of Formula One and Grand Prix vehicles. Brian Henton, an F1 driver, was born in Castle Donington.

Sport clubs

Castle Donington Town Football Club, who won the Leicestershire County Cup in the 2005–06 season.

Castle Donington Cobras Football Club were winners of the Derbyshire FA Sunday Junior Cup in the 2014–15 season, and 2015–16 season.

Castle Donington Football Club (Charter Standard) Runners up in the North Leicestershire League, Division 1 2014–15 season. Currently playing in The Mel Williams Premier Division.

Castle Donington Town Cricket Club an English amateur cricket club, situated on the Moira Dale Recreation Ground, east of the town. The history of the club dates back to the late 1800s. They have a 1st XI senior side that compete on Saturdays in the Derbyshire County Cricket League, and a Sunday XI team 'The Dons' that play friendly matches in and around the region. [16]

Castle Donington Rugby Union Football Club

Professional Kickboxing Association – Castle Donington a Kickboxing club through KickboxUK. There are several classes broken down into various age groups that take place at Castle Donington Village Hall every week on Wednesday, there are 4 different classes which run, Reception 4-5 years, Cadets 6-9 years, Juniors 10-13 years, and finally an Adults Class for ages 14+.

Donington Park

Donington Hall, former headquarters of BMI DoningtonHallCastleDonington.jpg
Donington Hall, former headquarters of BMI

Donington Park is a site near Castle Donington in North West Leicestershire, England. Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it is leased by Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd from owner Tom Wheatcroft. Used as a motor racing track, it is also the venue for the Download Festival. Donington Park had a contract to stage the Formula One British Grand Prix for a period of 10 years from 2010 but this was later cancelled due to Donington Park's failing to secure the finances required to upgrade the track. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Midlands</span> Region of England

The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, and Rutland. The region has a land area of 15,624 km2 (6,032 sq mi), with an estimated population 4,934,939 in 2022. With a sufficiency-level world city ranking, Nottingham is the only settlement in the region to be classified by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leicestershire</span> County of England

Leicestershire is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warwickshire to the south-west, and Staffordshire to the west. The city of Leicester is the largest settlement and the county town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesterfield, Derbyshire</span> Town in Derbyshire, England

Chesterfield is a market and industrial town in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is 24 miles (39 km) north of Derby and 11 miles (18 km) south of Sheffield at the confluence of the Rivers Rother and Hipper. In 2011, the built-up-area subdivision had a population of 88,483, making it the second-largest settlement in Derbyshire, after Derby. The wider Borough of Chesterfield had a population of 103,569 in the 2021 Census. In 2021, the town itself had a population of 76,402.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashby-de-la-Zouch</span> Market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England

Ashby-de-la-Zouch, also spelled Ashby de la Zouch, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England, near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire borders. Its population at the 2021 census was 16,491. Ashby de la Zouch Castle was an important fort in the 15th to 17th centuries. During the 19th century, the town's main industry was ribbon manufacturing.

British Midland Airways Limited was an airline in the United Kingdom with its head office in Donington Hall in Castle Donington, close to East Midlands Airport, England. The airline flew to destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America and Central Asia from its main hub at London Heathrow Airport, where at its peak it held about 13% of all takeoff and landing slots and operated over 2,000 flights a week. BMI was a member of Star Alliance from 1 July 2000 until 20 April 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loughborough</span> Town in Leicestershire, England

Loughborough is a market town in the Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a population of 64,884.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North West Leicestershire</span> Non-metropolitan district in England

North West Leicestershire is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. The towns in the district include of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Castle Donington, Coalville and Ibstock. Notable villages in the district include Donington le Heath, Ellistown, Hugglescote, Kegworth, Measham, Shackerstone, Thringstone and Whitwick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Midlands Airport</span> Airport in the East Midlands of England

East Midlands Airport is an international airport in Castle Donington, North West Leicestershire, England. The airport is situated between Loughborough, Derby and Nottingham ; Leicester is 20 miles (32 km) to the south and Lincoln 43 miles (69 km) northeast. It serves the majority of the East Midlands region consisting of the counties of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Southern Lincolnshire, Rutland and Derbyshire. The airfield was originally built as a Royal Air Force station known as RAF Castle Donington in 1943, before being redeveloped as a civilian airport in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kegworth</span> Village in Leicestershire, England

Kegworth is a large village and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, in the East Midlands region, England. It forms part of the border with Nottinghamshire and is situated 6 miles north of Loughborough, 12 miles southwest of Nottingham, 12.5 miles southeast of Derby and 17 miles north of Leicester. The population of Kegworth as of the 2011 census was 3,601.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilkeston</span> Town in Derbyshire, England

Ilkeston is a town located in the Borough of Erewash in Derbyshire, England, with a population of 40,953 at the 2021 census. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/textiles, have now all but disappeared. Part of the Nottingham Urban Area, the town is located between the cities Derby and Nottingham, near the M1 motorway, and on the River Erewash. Its eastern boundary borders Nottinghamshire to the east and is only two miles from Nottingham's western edge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donington Park</span> Motorsport circuit in England

Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Derbyshire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned by the Wheatcroft family, is currently under lease by MotorSport Vision until 2038. It has a capacity of 120,000, and is also the venue of the Download Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Eaton</span> Town in Erewash district, Derbyshire, England

Long Eaton is a town in the Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, just north of the River Trent, about 6 miles (9.7 km) south-west of Nottingham and 9 miles (14 km) south-east of Derby. The town population was 37,760 at the 2011 census. It has been part of Erewash borough since 1 April 1974, when Long Eaton Urban District was disbanded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shepshed</span> Town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England

Shepshed is a market town and civil parish in the Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England with a population of 14,875 at the 2021 census. It is the second biggest settlement in the borough, after the town of Loughborough.

Bmibaby Limited was a British low-cost airline that flew to destinations in the United Kingdom and Europe from its bases at Birmingham and East Midlands airports. It was a subsidiary of British Midland International, itself wholly owned by International Airlines Group (IAG). Bmibaby's head office was at Donington Hall in Castle Donington, North West Leicestershire, England. Bmibaby held a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, and was permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne, Derbyshire</span> Market town in Derbyshire, England

Melbourne is a market town and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. It was home to Thomas Cook, and has a street named after him. It is 8 miles (13 km) south of Derby and 2 miles (3 km) from the River Trent. The population of the civil parish at the 2021 Census was 5,264.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Midlands Parkway railway station</span> Railway station in Nottinghamshire, England

East Midlands Parkway railway station is located north of Ratcliffe-on-Soar on the Midland Main Line in the East Midlands of England. It provides park and ride facilities for rail passengers on the routes from Leicester to Derby and Nottingham. It is also the closest station to East Midlands Airport, some 4 miles (6.4 km) away, but without public transport link.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flybmi</span> Defunct regional airline of the United Kingdom (1987–2019)

Flybmi, styled as flybmi, legally British Midland Regional Limited and formerly branded as bmi Regional, was a regional airline in the United Kingdom that operated scheduled passenger services across the UK and Europe. The head office of the airline was at East Midlands Airport in North West Leicestershire, and it had operating bases at Aberdeen, Brussels, Bristol, East Midlands, Newcastle and Munich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemington, Leicestershire</span> Village in England

Hemington is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lockington-Hemington, in the North West Leicestershire district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 298.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donington Hall</span> 19th century country house in Leicestershire

Donington Hall is a country house set in parkland near Castle Donington village, North West Leicestershire. The Hall and Estate was purchased in April 2021 by MotorSport Vision, which also operates the neighbouring Donington Park racing circuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Donington line</span> Railway line in Derbyshire, England

The Castle Donington line also known as Weston On Trent Branch Railway is a railway line in Derbyshire, England, that runs between Stenson Junction in the west and Sheet Stores Junction in the east. There are no passenger services that serve this line regularly but passenger services are occasionally routed across it. Regular passenger services are routed via Derby. The line is regularly used by freight trains and serves the East Midlands Gateway freight interchange. There are no current passenger stations on the line which previously served stations at Castle Donington and Weston-on-Trent and also linked to the Melbourne Line.

References

  1. ↑ "Population Data Castle Donington (Parish)". City Population. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  2. ↑ "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  3. ↑ Weston - Charter of Æthelred, The Great Council, 1009, accessible at Derby records
  4. ↑ Domesday Book: A Complete Translation. London: Penguin Books. 2003. pp. 632, 648. ISBN   0-14-143994-7.
  5. ↑ "Full Freeview on the Waltham (Leicestershire, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  6. ↑ "Hermitage FM" . Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Castle Donington/Melbourne Messenger (defunct)". British Papers. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Castle Donington Life" . Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "Contact Us." Flybmi. 12 July 2017. retrieved on 18 February 2019. "Head Office bmi regional Pegasus Business Park Herald Way East Midlands Airport Castle Donington DE74 2TU"
  10. ↑ The Wire (16 March 2013). "Historic Donington Hall to serve as Norton Motorcycles New World Headquarters and Manufacturing Facilities". Cycle World . Bonnier Corp. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013. Where else in the world can one tour an 18th century Gothic Revival mansion, view a Norton Motorcycle being built, watch a World Superbike race and attend an Iron Maiden concert all in the same place?
  11. ↑ "Contact us Archived 2 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine ." BMI. Accessed September 23, 2008.
  12. ↑ "the eighties Archived 10 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine ." British Midland International. Retrieved on 28 December 2011.
  13. ↑ "Company Information Archived 14 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine ." bmibaby. Retrieved on 31 December 2011. "Registered office - Donington Hall Castle Donington Derby East Midlands DE74 2SB UK"
  14. ↑ Gorman, Edward (20 June 2008). "Donington on track to take race from Silverstone in a 10 year deal". The Times . London. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
  15. 1 2 "No Donington GP, says Ecclestone". BBC News. 29 October 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  16. ↑ "Castle Donington Cricket Club". castledonington.play-cricket.com. Castle Donington Cricket Club. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.