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Eastwood is a former coal mining town in the Broxtowe district of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of over 18,000, it is 8 miles (13 km) from Nottingham and 10 miles (16 km) from Derby. It is on the border of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

Mentioned in the domesday book, it expanded quickly during the industrial revolution. The Midland Railway was formed here, and it is the birthpace of D.H. Lawrence.

History
"Est" is a Sexon word for East, and "Pveit", pronounced "Thwaite" is a Norse word for a forest clearing. Eastwood started out as a clearing in the former sherwood forest.

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.

Eastwood is referred to in the Domesday Book as Estewic, held under wardship by William Peverel (Peverel of the Peak). There were around 28 houses.

A later reference by a Minister of Religion (Owen Meredith) corrected this name to 'Eastwick alias Eastwood'.

During the reign of Henry I (1100 -1135), Peverel was given definite possession of the lands. His son forfeit the land to the Crown in 1155.

When James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603, Eastwood had a population of about 170.



Eastwood was a small village until the 18th century. In 1779, the Erewash Canal was one of the first manmade waterways. Trent Navigation Company built locks at Beeston, linking to the river Trent and Nottingham. This led to a rapid expansion of the coal mining industry. Other industries followed, included frame knitting, corn milling, pottery, brewing, rope making and brick making.

In 1817, marchers of the Pentrich revolution passed through Langley Mill, stopped at the Sun Inn, and faced soldiers at Giltbrook. The citizens of Eastwood boarded up their houses and hid in the woods.

In 1832, a historic meeting took place at in the Sun Inn (built 1750). This resulted in the formation of the Midland Counties Railway, and the construction of a line from Pinxton to Leicester.

The Moorgreen Colliery on Engine Lane was sunk in 1868. By 1875, the demand for coal supply resulted in a further rail link, The Great Northern Railway line to Nottingham.

During the industrial revolution, Eastwood expanded rapidly. By 1880 the population had increased to 4,500. D.H. Lawrence was born in Eastwood in 1885. Many of his novels mention the area (especially "The White Peacock"), and his birthplace is now a museum.

In the 20th century, trams and buses provided new means of transport between Nottingham, Ripley and Heanor. Shops became established along Nottingham Road and the feeder streets. In 1908 the local Urban District Council opened offices in Church Street. During the two world wars, Eastwood coal, metal castings, rope, wire products and agriculture made valuable contributions. During the 2nd world war, Eastwood supplied soldiers to the Sherwood Foresters Regiment. The War Memorial at the junction of Nottingham Road and Plumptre Way commemorates the names of Eastwood people who gave their lives in both world wars.

In 1946, the coal industry was nationalised. The new National Coal Board acquired Eastwood Hall as their Area Office. This later became their National Office - the location for several crisis meetings during the National Miners' Strike in the 1980's.

At the height of its production in 1963, Moorgreen Colliery produced 1,000,000 tons of coal.

The last coalmine in the area closed in 1985.

In recent years, tourism has become increasingly important. A ‘blue line trail’ guides visitors around 11 sites of local interest.

Governance
The former Eastwood Urban District Council became part of Broxtowe District Council in 1974. In 1977 the Council was granted Borough status. The current mayor is Brian Wombwell.

Eastwood consists of 3 wards;


 * Eastwood South
 * Eastwood North and Greasley (Beauvale)
 * Greasley (Giltbrook and Newthorpe)

All of these lie within the Borough of Broxtowe for local government. For national elections, however, the first two wards are in the Ashfield constituency – not the Broxtowe constituency.

Local Government
Two-tier local authority services in Broxtowe are provided by the Borough Council and Nottinghamshire County Council.

Broxtowe Borough Council has 44 councillors who represent particular areas known as wards. There are currently 21 wards returning one, two or three councillors, depending on the number of electors living in an area.

The last elections were held in 2007.


 * Eastwood South ward elected 3 labor councillors - Milan Radulovic, Doug Wilcockson, and Jim Kenny.


 * Eastwood North and Greasley (Beauvale) ward elected 2 liberal democrat councillors - Bob Charlesworth and Charles Edward Robb.


 * Greasley (Giltbrook and Newthorpe) ward elected 3 conservative councillors - Mick Brown, Martin Wright, and Margaret Handley.

Parliamentary Constituency
The Eastwood South and Eastwood North and Greasley (Beauvale) wards vote in the Ashfield constituency. Their current MP is Geoff Hoon, elected in 1992, 1997, 2001, and 2005. He is currently Chief Whip and Secretary to the Treasury.

The Greasley (Giltbrook and Newthorpe) ward votes in the Broxtowe constituency. Their current MP is Nick Palmer elected 1997, 2001, and 2005.

Parish
Most villages and rural areas are served by a local parish Council.

Eastwood intself has Eastwood Town Council (North) and Eastwood Town Council (South).

Other parts are covered by Greasley (Beauvale) Parish, Greasley (Newthorpe) Parish and Greasley (Watnall) Parish.

European Parliament
Broxtowe Borough is part of the European Parliament East Midlands constituency. MEPs are selected by proportional representation and so all East Midlands MEPs share responsibility for Broxtowe's residents.

Geography
Surrounded by gently rolling countryside, Eastwood is 8 miles to the northwest of the City of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire and close to the county boundary with Derbyshire.

...I was born nearly, forty-four years ago, in Eastwood, a mining village of some three thousand souls, about eight miles from Nottingham, and one mile from the small stream, the Erewash, which divides Nottinghamshire from Derbyshire. It is hilly country, looking west to Crich and towards Matlock, sixteen miles away, and east and north-east towards Mansfield and the Sherwood Forest district.D.H. Lawrence, 1929 Nottingham & the Mining Country

Eastwood town centre is focused along a northwest-southeast ridge, Nottingham Road, and contains many small shops, and a large Co-op store. Up hill to the East, it leads to the A610 to Nottingham, the M1 motorway, and Giltbrook Retail Park – a large Ikea store, and various developments (see future plans ). At the western end of Eastwood is a ‘gyratory system’ – an ancient crossroads converted into a traffic island, around the Sun Inn public house. A large Morrisons supermarket is here. Roads lead North to Brinsley, West to Heanor, and South down Church Street, the location of several listed buildings, into New Eastwood.

It is a rural area, surrounded by farmed land, woods and fields. Just half a mile (1km) to the West, the Erewash River forms the boundary between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Alongside, the Erewash canal leads to the River Trent.

The large hill visible to the North is known locally as “Dot ‘ill”, or “dirt hill”. This land was reclaimed from a mining slag heap.

The area contains Coal Measures, with shale, mudstone, and sandstone, overlain by yellow clay. Alluvial deposits from the River Erewash run roughly north-south.

Demography
As of the 2001 UK census, the town of Eastwood had a total population of 18,732.

Population change can be tracked accurately from the 1911 census until the 1971 census, as Eastwood Urban District was a Local Government District from 1896 until 1974.



In the 1951 census, around 11.5% of the total population listed their occupation as Mining & Quarrying. By the 2001 survey, this had fallen to 0.15%.

In the 2001 census, Over 98% of the population selected the ethnicity White: British. The national average for England was 87%.

Landmarks
A war memorial was unveiled in 1921, inscribed "to the men of Eastwood, who fell in the Great War 1914-1918". Later, World War II dedications were added, and it was moved to its present location at Plumbtree Way. It is in the shape of an obelisk, made of Italian marble with a base of Whatstandwell stone.

The Blue Line Trail - painted along the pavement - guides visitors around the local area, including the birthplace of D.H. Lawrence (now a museum), three other houses that Lawrence lived in, and other sites related to his life and work. It is based on the Freedom Trail in Boston.

Eastwood Hall was the Head-quarters building of British Coal. It is now a Conference Centre.

Transport
The M1 motorway runs close to Eastwood (juntions 26 and 27).

Eastwood is served by Trent Barton buses, one of the few independent bus operators in the UK. Buses from Nottinham's Victoria bus station take 40 minutes.

The nearet railway station is at Langley Mill, which has connections to Nottingham, Sheffield, Chesterfield and Manchester. The East Midlands Airport is 13 miles away.

Education
There are several junior schools in the area, including Eastwood Junior School, Brookhill Leys Primary and Nursery School, Greasley Beauvale Junior School, Lynncroft Primary and Nursery School, Priory Catholic Primary School, and Greasley Beauvale D H Lawrence Infant School (which Lawrence attended).

Most older local students attend Eastwood Comprehensive School, which also has a small sixth-form. The OFSTED report of 2007 notes that The social and economic backgrounds of students are below average and fewer than average come from homes with a tradition of higher education.

Castle College, Nottingham, has a centre in Eastwood, with community courses in Arts & Crafts, First Aid, Cake Decorating and Languages.

Eastwood Skills Shop offers courses including IT, Arts & Crafts, Spanish and Interior Design.

Eastwood Library, in the centre of the town, provides traditional book loans, but also has free internet access, CDRoms and a range of information services.

Eastwood Community Sports Centre has a four-court sports hall, and 2 junior and 2 full sized football pitches.

Religious Sites
St Mary's Church dates back to the 13th Century, was rebuilt in 1858, and demolished by fire in 1963. The new church was consecrated on 25th September 1967.



Beauvale Priory was founded in 1343. One of nine English houses which owed allegiance to the Grand Prior of Chartreuse, the monks rules were similar to those of Benedictines. It was referred to as "The Abbey" in D.H.Lawrence's "The White Peacock".

Other churches in the area include;


 * Assemblies of God Church, Nottingham Rd
 * Our Lady Of Good Counsel RC Church, Nottingham Rd
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Derby Rd
 * Eastwood Baptist Church, Percy St

Sports
Eastwood Town Football Club, known as the Badgers, play in the Northern Premier League (known as the Unibond league). Their home ground is Coronation Park.

Eastwood Town Cricket Club plays in the Gunn & Moore South Notts League.

Notable people
Jeffrey (Jeff) Astle (13 May 1942 – 19 January 2002), born in Eastwood, was an English footballer. He played for West Bromwich Albion and England.

D.H. Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930), author, was born in Eastwood. His birthplace and residences now attract visitors from all over the world. Many of his best-known novels describe Eastwood and its culture. Some of his work includes portions written in the local dialect.

Several cricket players were born in the area, including Thomas Limb and William Rigley.

Future plans
The Giltbrook retail park, 1.5 miles (2.5 km) South-west of Eastwood, is currently undergoing a 60M expansion. The 8.5 hectacre site will have 2,350 car parking spaces. British Home Stores, Laura Ashley, Mamas and Papas, Argos, Comet, Starbucks, Subway and Frankie and Benny's have all expressed interest. The whole park is expected to be open by Christmas 2008.

Culture and community
Eastwood Collieries' Male Voice Choir formed in 1919. They appeared on BBC television in 1963, and are one of the oldest surviving colliery choirs in the uk.

Eastwood Arcadians are a local marching band.