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Good (Monday) Morning! Your reminder that our #lockdownsale on the e-book versions of our 'shorts' continues. For just £1.49 you can download the history of one our histories of English places. Today's place profile follows this tweet so read on! https://blog.history.ac.uk/2020/04/discover-victoria-county-history-shorts-a-lockdown-special-offer/
What do a town that became a village, basket-making, motor racing and the Download Rock Festival have in common? Here's a clue.
Before we tweet about Castle Donington as a place, a word on the book. The VCH in Leicestershire owes much to the late, great, W.G. Hoskins who, in 1951, suggested that his student, J.M. Lee, 'did' the parish of Castle Donington as a summer project: who could refuse? [continues]
![Before we tweet about Castle Donington as a place, a word on the book. The VCH in Leicestershire owes much to the late, great, W.G. Hoskins who, in 1951, suggested that his student, J.M. Lee, 'did' the parish of Castle Donington as a summer project: who could refuse? [continues]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWmX0DaWsAAHg2w.png "Before we tweet about Castle Donington as a place, a word on the book. The VCH in Leicestershire owes much to the late, great, W.G. Hoskins who, in 1951, suggested that his student, J.M. Lee, 'did' the parish of Castle Donington as a summer project: who could refuse? [continues]")
Well not the young student who did what we do - chased down the descent of the manor, went through the surviving manorial and parochial documents and prepared a draft.
Which, as is the way of these things, sat on file. [continues]
Which, as is the way of these things, sat on file. [continues]
And Lee went on to other things and a career in political science @UoMNews - but he co-edited volume 5 of @LEICSVCHT series on Gartree Hundred (1964) which you can read for free @bho_history: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/leics/vol5 . So back to #CastleDonington...
... which, when @LEICSVCHT was revived, was chosen to be their first publication. So what about the place? As a settlement, it's a representative of a classical type: the castle borough. So what does that mean? [continues]
![... which, when @LEICSVCHT was revived, was chosen to be their first publication. So what about the place? As a settlement, it's a representative of a classical type: the castle borough. So what does that mean? [continues]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWmcZjJX0AEWO7S.jpg "... which, when @LEICSVCHT was revived, was chosen to be their first publication. So what about the place? As a settlement, it's a representative of a classical type: the castle borough. So what does that mean? [continues]")
Simply, one of the functions of a castle was often the base for government, either royal, or as in Castle Donington, of the lord who built a castle on his manor of Donington c.1150. It's the round feature in the middle of this map. [continues]
![Simply, one of the functions of a castle was often the base for government, either royal, or as in Castle Donington, of the lord who built a castle on his manor of Donington c.1150. It's the round feature in the middle of this map. [continues]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWmdI65XQAAdJov.jpg "Simply, one of the functions of a castle was often the base for government, either royal, or as in Castle Donington, of the lord who built a castle on his manor of Donington c.1150. It's the round feature in the middle of this map. [continues]")
With that came a market and an urban community, the borough. Even without documentary evidence the layout of the settlement shows its origins - the long thin-fronted plots are called 'burgage plots' and in this case the high street is still called 'Borough Street' [continues]
![With that came a market and an urban community, the borough. Even without documentary evidence the layout of the settlement shows its origins - the long thin-fronted plots are called 'burgage plots' and in this case the high street is still called 'Borough Street' [continues]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWmeePWWoAAqvF8.jpg "With that came a market and an urban community, the borough. Even without documentary evidence the layout of the settlement shows its origins - the long thin-fronted plots are called 'burgage plots' and in this case the high street is still called 'Borough Street' [continues]")
So in medieval and later terms, Castle Donington was a town and in naming terms remains so (the football and cricket clubs use the word, many inhabitants an the parish council do not). This is - partly - because our ideas of what urban means have changed. [continues]
But what makes Castle Donington? Well it has changed a lot since 1951. And even more since the late 19th century. [continues]
![But what makes Castle Donington? Well it has changed a lot since 1951. And even more since the late 19th century. [continues]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWmhJwWWkAA8E9N.jpg "But what makes Castle Donington? Well it has changed a lot since 1951. And even more since the late 19th century. [continues]")
![But what makes Castle Donington? Well it has changed a lot since 1951. And even more since the late 19th century. [continues]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWmhJxJWsAAALUI.jpg "But what makes Castle Donington? Well it has changed a lot since 1951. And even more since the late 19th century. [continues]")
![But what makes Castle Donington? Well it has changed a lot since 1951. And even more since the late 19th century. [continues]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWmhnjVWsAA2UyA.jpg "But what makes Castle Donington? Well it has changed a lot since 1951. And even more since the late 19th century. [continues]")
In the north of the parish a power station was built and demolished, the motorway has appeared, in the south the motor racing circuit has changed and East Midlands Airport has sprung up and the settlement has massively increased in size. [continues...]
![In the north of the parish a power station was built and demolished, the motorway has appeared, in the south the motor racing circuit has changed and East Midlands Airport has sprung up and the settlement has massively increased in size. [continues...]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWmjvLEXYAArMx5.jpg "In the north of the parish a power station was built and demolished, the motorway has appeared, in the south the motor racing circuit has changed and East Midlands Airport has sprung up and the settlement has massively increased in size. [continues...]")
![In the north of the parish a power station was built and demolished, the motorway has appeared, in the south the motor racing circuit has changed and East Midlands Airport has sprung up and the settlement has massively increased in size. [continues...]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWmkNHDWAAAUkPm.jpg "In the north of the parish a power station was built and demolished, the motorway has appeared, in the south the motor racing circuit has changed and East Midlands Airport has sprung up and the settlement has massively increased in size. [continues...]")
To read more about Castle Donington, find out about the e-book here: https://blog.history.ac.uk/2020/04/discover-victoria-county-history-shorts-a-lockdown-special-offer/
To support @LEICSVCHT (or buy a hard copy of their books directly from them), find out more here: https://www.history.ac.uk/research/victoria-county-history/county-histories-progress/leicestershire
To support @LEICSVCHT (or buy a hard copy of their books directly from them), find out more here: https://www.history.ac.uk/research/victoria-county-history/county-histories-progress/leicestershire
