| Finningley | |
|---|---|
| Village andcivil parish | |
 Finningley Pond | |
  Finningley Location within Borough of Doncaster Show map of the City of Doncaster district | |
| Area | 3.74 sq mi (9.7 km2) |
| Population | 1,497 (2011 census) |
| • Density | 400/sq mi (150/km2) |
| OS grid reference | SK674990 |
| Civil parish |
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| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DONCASTER |
| Postcode district | DN9 |
| Dialling code | 01302 |
| Police | South Yorkshire |
| Fire | South Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| UK Parliament | |
| 53°28′59″N0°58′59″W / 53.483°N 0.983°W /53.483; -0.983 | |
Finningley is a village andcivil parish in theCity of Doncaster,South Yorkshire, England.Historically inNottinghamshire,[1] it lies on theA614 road betweenBawtry andThorne, about 6 miles south-east ofDoncaster. In the 2011 census, it had a population of 1,497.[2][3][4] The Finningley ward of Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council covers 16.8 square miles, including the villages ofAuckley,Branton,Blaxton, Hayfield andBessacarr Grange, and part ofCantley.
The parish church of Holy Trinity isNorman, with a 13th-century chancel.[5]
The place name Finningley contains theOld English word,fenn, a fen, a marsh, marshland +-ingas (Old English), the people of...; the people called after... +lēah (Old English), a glade, clearing; (later) a pasture, meadow... so a "Clearing of the fen-dwellers".[6]
Finningley is known for itsairport, onceRAF Finningley. The station housed a'V' force ofVulcan bombers in theCold War, and for 35 years hosted a regularair show, which by the 1990s was the country's largest one-day event of its kind.[7] However, the end of the Cold War led to the airfield closing in April 1996 and the air show coming to an end.
The 3,000-yard (2,700 m) long runway, currently the second longest inNorthern England, was large enough to take evenConcorde, and in the period after the closure of theRAF airfield there were several campaigns to turn Finningley into a commercial airport for the unserved South Yorkshire region, along with neighbouring Nottinghamshire,Lincolnshire and theEast Riding of Yorkshire).
Plans for the conversion were approved in 2003 and the first flights served in April 2005. The airport was namedRobin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield, then renamedDoncaster Sheffield Airport. In November 2022 it closed to passenger traffic. Planning permission had been given for a railway station – the formerFinningley railway station, which closed in 1961 – but it is now unlikely to be built.[8]
Leon Motors, a company located in Finningley, operated bus services in Doncaster. Formed in 1922, it was taken over by MASS of North Anston in 2004 but has since ceased operating from the Old Bawtry Road site in Finningley.
Finningley is home to a Motocross venue.[9]
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