User:Chzz/eastwood/original

Eastwood is a town in Nottinghamshire, England, about 8 miles from Nottingham and 10 miles from Derby. It is the northernmost town in the Borough of Broxtowe. Its main industry was formerly coal mining, but the mines have now all shut down.

The town is known as the birthplace of David Herbert Lawrence, and many of his novels were inspired by the local area D.H Lawrence's Eastwood. His birthplace, the family's former home in Victoria Street, has been converted to a museum dedicated to the author.

Eastwood is one of the few places where the distinctive dialect of East Midlands English is extensively spoken. Eastwood is referred to as 'Aes'wood' in this dialect.

It is also known for the meetings of the Nottinghamshire coalminers, at the Sun Inn, in the early nineteenth century. It was there that the decision to build the Midland Counties Railway was made, which later became part of the fledgling Midland Railway.

The local football team is Eastwood Town F.C., known as the Badgers, who play their home games at Coronation Park on Chewton Street.

Economy
The Moorgreen Colliery on Engine Lane was sunk in 1868 and closed in 1985. At the height of its production in 1963 it produced 1,000,000 tons of coal. It is now a country park and reservoir. In August 1976, Margaret Thatcher took her first visit down a coalmine here. D.H. Lawrence's father worked at Brinsley Colliery (close to Eastwood Hall), which closed in 1930. The headstocks are still visible.

Town Centre
The shopping centre of the town isn't particularly expansive but is home to a large Morrisons to the north and IKEA in Giltbrook to the south. The town centre has a large library, along with a Greggs, a Co-op, Woolworths, Boots, Iceland, numerous pizza, Chinese, Indian and fish and chips takeaways and many small businesses. The Gallery is the newest and trendiest bar in Eastwood, and there are numerous other pubs in the area, including the vaults, the Lord Nelson, the Sun Inn, The Three Tuns, the Wellington Inn and the Man In Space. There Is Also The Library An Acoustic Lounge Bar

Education
Priory Roman Catholic Primary School is a school located on Raglan Street and is situated amongst green grounds. They hold an annual football tournament on their fields during their summer pageant. The school backs onto the local convent and the school boasts many links with the church and its priest, Father John Berry. Brookhill Leys primary school is on Chewton Street, Greasley Beauvale Junior School is on Greasley Avenue, Eastwood Junior School is on Devonshire Drive, Lynncroft Primary School is on Lynncroft, Eastwood Comprehensive School is on Mansfield Road (A608) and Greasley Beauvale D.H. Lawrence Infants School, where D.H. Lawrence himself attended, is located on Dovecote Road in the town.

Also in Eastwood is what is known as 'The Blue Line Trail'. This is a painted blue line on some pavements running from one side of Eastwood to the other which intersects various landmarks related with D.H. Lawrence. The line leads to the following sights; Lawrence's four houses, Garden Road, Walker Street and Lynncroft, The Three Tuns pub (Lawrence's father's favourite pub), Greasley Beauvale Infants School and Durban House.

Namesakes
See Eastwood for numerous other places with this name.