Beeston, Nottinghamshire
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Template:GBdot Beeston is a town in the county of Nottinghamshire, England some 3 miles (5km) south west of the centre of Nottingham.
Although Beeston is now generally regarded as a suburb of the City of Nottingham, it lies just within the separate Borough of Broxtowe. Prior to 1974 Beeston was paired with the town of Stapleford (2 km to the north west) in an Urban District Council. Beeston lies within the Broxtowe constituency for UK general elections.
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Geography
Suburban development of the mid twentieth century means that the built up area of Beeston is now continuous with the former villages of Chilwell to the west and Wollaton to the northeast, although Beeston is still separated from Bramcote to the northwest by the Beeston Fields Golf Course. There are two main areas of the town. North of the railway that runs through the town lies the main part, including the main shopping district. Southwards lies the housing area of Beeston Rylands. Beeston Rylands is often at risk of flooding from the River Trent to the south, and this has meant that property here was less desirable, and led to more modestly sized houses being constructed, originally mostly for rental.
The eastern edge of Beeston abuts to the main campus of the University of Nottingham. Although most of the University is within the City of Nottingham, the student self catering flats of Broadgate Park, owned by the University, are partly within the borders of Beeston. Beeston also has a large population of postgraduate students, who tend to prefer its quieter atmosphere to that of the Nottingham areas of Dunkirk and Lenton where many undergraduates live.
Beeston's main shopping area is the High Road. Much of High Road is pedestrianised, lending it an atmosphere friendly to shoppers. Beeston also has good transport facilities with a railway station served by Midland Mainline (http://www.midlandmainline.com/) services to Leicester and London St Pancras and local services; frequent bus services to Nottingham, Derby, Loughborough and other local towns, operated by TrentBarton and Nottingham City Transport; ample car parking facilities are also available. Many chain stores have branches in Beeston, but the town also has some local shops. A market is held each Friday and Saturday.
Proposals have been made to build a tram line through the town as part of the new Nottingham Express Transit system. These are motivated in part by the large traffic jams which currently clog many of the local roads during rush hour periods. However, local opposition to the scheme has been strong, and local traders fear that during the extensive works necessary to construct the line their business would be adversely affected.
| North: Ilkeston | ||
| West: Long Eaton, Stapleford, Derby | Beeston | East: Nottingham, University of Nottingham |
| South: River Trent |
History
Beeston grew from its village status with its development as a silk weaving centre in the early nineteenth century. The first silk mill was burned down (along with Nottingham Castle) in the Reform Bill riots of 1831. With the decline of the silk industry, many of the former mills moved to light industrial uses in the early twentieth century. Equipment produced by the Beeston Boiler Company is still to be found all around the former British Empire. Beeston was also chosen by the Swedish Ericsson telephone company as its UK base. Telephone manufacturing, under the Plessey name continued to be a major source of local employment until the 1980s. The site is now occupied by Siemens and Marconi Communications. The pharmaceutical and retail chemist group Boots has it headquarters on a campus 1km southeast of Beeston. This site is partly within the boundaries of the City of Nottingham. The grade 1 listed modernist buildings on Boots campus - designed by engineer Owen Williams - are very difficult to see from any public highway. Beeston has a number of other historic buildings, including its manor house and parish church. The area of Devonshire Avenue is a conservation area, notable for its large, architecturally attractive houses.
Other wide-reaching local companies include Myford lathes and the internet firm Hosteurope.
Trivia
The name inspired the character of Mr Beeston, the school headmaster in the long running BBC radio programme - King St Junior (http://www.britishcomedy.org.uk/comedy/kingstreet.html) - a tale set in an everyday junior school.
The bins that are located on the High Road are decorated in black and gold, with a symbol of a bee on each. This refers to the 'Bee' in 'Beeston'. There is also a sculpture on the High Road of a man sitting next to a bee hive. Again, this is another reference to the 'Bee'. The sculpture is popularly known as the 'Bee-man'.
External links
- Beeston Civic Society (http://www.beeston12.freeserve.co.uk/civic.html)
- Beeston Local History Society (http://www.yourcomputerdepartment.co.uk/chilwell/clubs/blhs/blhs.htm)
- Broxtowe Borough Council (http://www.broxtowe.gov.uk/)
- History of British Ericsson Company (http://web.ukonline.co.uk/freshwater/ericsson/erichist.htm)