Castle Donington
| Castle Donington | |
  Castle Donington Castle Donington shown within Leicestershire | |
| Population | 7,000 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SK446272 |
| District | North West Leicestershire |
| Shire county | Leicestershire |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DERBY |
| Postcode district | DE74 |
| Dialling code | 01332 |
| Police | Leicestershire |
| Fire | Leicestershire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | North West Leicestershire |
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Castle Donington is a village, with a population of around 7000 in the North West of Leicestershire, part of the Derby postcode area and on the edge of the National Forest. It is the closest town to East Midlands Airport.
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.
Although there is no rail station in the town, East Midlands Parkway opened early in 2008 at Ratcliffe-on-Soar providing links on the Midland Main Line.
Castle Donington railway station, on the northern edge of the town, was opened by the Midland railway company in 1868. It was closed to regular passenger traffic in 1930, and closed completely and demolished in 1968. The access driveway still exists though for foot traffic only, and is the start of a footpath to Hemington, running past the site of the old goods yard, now a scrap yard.
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.[1] 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.[2] It is called Castoldonyngtoin in a duchy of Lancaster warrant of 1484.
Castle Donington also had its own power station later operated by Powergen from 1990, which when originally built in 1958 was one of the largest coal-fired power stations in Europe, and was officially opened by Nikita Khrushchev the then leader of the Soviet Union. However, this was closed in September 1994 and demolished in 1996.
In 2009 Castle Donington based Punk/Rock band 3 Stone Monkey was formed including 3 residents from the village (Pete Machin, Roy Worthington and Sam Worthington). the rest of the band consists of members John Bowley from Coalville and Psycho from Long Eaton they have 2 albums available and put Castle Donington on the map in the music world.
Castle Donington was also the home for many years of noted rock drummer Stuart Gillborn who toured Europe and recorded in the 1970's and 1980's with well known bands such as The Drains (1976-78) The Connection (1978-79) and The Flash Cats (1979 - 88) Other members of this high profile musical family are Sasha Gillborn (keyboards) Roxy Gillborn (vocals) Luke Gillborn (guitar/bass) and Jamie Gillborn (drums).
Education
Castle Donington has two primary schools, St Edwards and Orchard Primary School, each serving roughly one half of the town. A high school — Castle Donington College, which celebrated its 50th anniversary on 10 September 2007 — takes students from ages 10–14 and then moving on to either Hind Leys Community College or Ashby, as there is no high school in Castle Donington.[citation needed]
Economy
East Midlands Airport is served by several major airlines including BMI, whose headquarters are nearby, Ryanair, Jet2.Com, Thomson Airways (who have a training centre at the airport) and many others. DHL also has a base at the airport. Castle Donington is also home to the Donington Park motor racing circuit.
BMI (British Midland), an airline, is headquartered in Donington Hall, Castle Donington.[3] The airline moved its headquarters to Donington Hall in 1982.[4] Excalibur Airways had its head office on the grounds of East Midlands Airport in Castle Donington,[5] as did Orion Airways.[6]
Events
Once a year on May bank holiday Monday a medieval market is held on the main shopping street in Castle Donington. This event comprises local stalls selling various kinds of produce and goods accompanied by dancing and music.
Usually during the last week of October each year the town hosts a travelling fair, known locally as Donington Wakes.
On the second Saturday of every month a farmers market is held on the playground of St. Edwards CofE primary school.
A very large market known as Donington Sunday Market takes place virtually every Sunday at Donington Park.
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,[7] but the agreement was cancelled due to financial problems.[8] 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 2005/6 season.
Castle Donington Football Club (Charter Standard)
Castle Donington Town Cricket Club
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 British Grand Prix for a period of ten years from 2010 although this was later cancelled due to Donington Park's failing to secure the finances required to upgrade the track.[8]
References
- ↑ Weston - Charter of Æthelred, The Great Council, 1009, accessible at Derby records
- ↑ Domesday Book: A Complete Translation London: Penguin, 2003 ISBN 0-14-143994-7 p.632 & 648
- ↑ "Contact us" BMI. Accessed 23 September 2008
- ↑ "the eighties." British Midland International. Retrieved on 28 December 2011.
- ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 24–30 March 1993. "91
- ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 29 March 1986. 114.
- ↑ Gorman, Edward (20 June 2008). "Donington on track to take race from Silverstone in a 10 year deal". London: The Times. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "No Donington GP, says Ecclestone". BBC News. 29 October 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
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