Castle Donington is a market town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in Leicestershire, England, on the edge of the National Forest and close to East Midlands Airport.

History

The name 'Donington' means 'farm/settlement connected with Dunna'. Another suggestion is that it could means 'farm/settlement at the hill place'. King's Mill, the nearby crossing on the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

, is mentioned in a charter issued by

Æthelred the Unready Æthelred II ( ang, Æþelræd, ;Different spellings of this king’s name most commonly found in modern texts are "Ethelred" and "Æthelred" (or "Aethelred"), the latter being closer to the original Old English form . Compare the modern diale ...

in 1009 regarding the boundaries of Weston-on-Trent. ''Dunintune'' or ''Dunitone'' is mentioned twice in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

of 1086 as having land belonging to Countess Ælfgifu and land assigned to Earl Hugh. It is called ''Castoldonyngtoin'' in a

duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properti ...

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 Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

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 Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, 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 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, ...

, 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.

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.

Transport and housing

Castle Donington stands on the former

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

trunk road. The town is a mix of the old and new, with modern shops mixed with dignified Georgian and

Regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

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 The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands ...

. In 1868 the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

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

East Midlands Airport is served by several airlines including flybe, Ryanair, Jet2.Com,

Thomson Airways Thomson may refer to: Names * Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin * Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson Businesses and organizations * SGS-Thomson M ...

and

Thomas Cook Airlines Thomas Cook Airlines Limited was a British charter and scheduled airline headquartered in Manchester, England. It was founded in 2007 from the merger of Thomas Cook Group and MyTravel Group, and was part of the Thomas Cook Group Airlines. It ...

. The express parcels company DHL has a base at the airport. The now-defunct airline

flybmi Flybmi, styled as flybmi, legally British Midland Regional Limited and formerly branded as bmi Regional, was a British regional airline that operated scheduled passenger services across the UK and Europe. The head office of the airline was a ...

formerly had its head office at Pegasus Business Park on the airport grounds. 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 The Norton Motorcycle Company (formerly Norton Motors, Ltd.) is a brand of motorcycles, originally based in Birmingham, England. For some years around 1990, the rights to use the name on motorcycles was owned by North American financiers. From ...

has its head office in Donington Hall. BMI (British Midland), an airline, was headquartered in Donington Hall.Contact us
." ''BMI''. Accessed September 23, 2008. The airline moved its headquarters to Donington Hall in 1982. The subsidiary bmibaby also had its head office in Donington Hall.

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. On the second Saturday of every month a farmers market is held at Castle Donington Community Hub in the site of the former public house "The Tudor". Donington Park was the original venue for the

Monsters of Rock Monsters of Rock was an annual hard rock and heavy metal music festival held in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as the Netherlands, Poland, ...

festivals through the 1980s and 1990s, and is now the home of the annual Download Festival. It also hosted a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

Grand PrixThe European Grand Prixin April 1993, which was won by

Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to win the World Championship and ...

. It was also set to be the home of the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...

from 2010 for at least 10 years, but the agreement was cancelled due to financial problems. The circuit also hosts the Donington Grand Prix Collection, 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 Premier League. Castle Donington Town Cricket Club an English amateur

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

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. Castle Donington Rugby Union Football Club

Donington Park

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

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.

References

{{authority control Civil parishes in Leicestershire North West Leicestershire District Villages in Leicestershire