Beeston, Nottinghamshire facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Beeston |
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 Beeston Canal passing through the Rylands |
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 Beeston
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| Population | 37,000 (2011 census) |
| OS grid reference | SK 52764 36944 |
| Civil parish |
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| District |
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| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NOTTINGHAM |
| Postcode district | NG9 |
| Dialling code | 0115 |
| Police | Nottinghamshire |
| Fire | Nottinghamshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament |
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Beeston is a town in the Borough of Broxtowe, Nottinghamshire, England, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) south-west of Nottingham city centre. To its north-east is the University of Nottingham's main campus, University Park. The pharmaceutical and retail chemist group Boots has its headquarters 0.6 miles (1 km) east of the centre of Beeston, on the border with Broxtowe and the City of Nottingham. To the south lie the River Trent and the village of Attenborough, with extensive wetlands.
Contents
Geography
As a result of suburban development in the mid-twentieth century, the built-up area of Beeston is now contiguous with the former villages of Chilwell to the west, and Wollaton and Lenton Abbey to the north. Beeston is to a degree separated from Bramcote to the northwest by the Beeston Fields Golf Course. The Broxtowe-City of Nottingham border runs immediately to the east of the town and essentially forms the town's eastern edge.
There are two main areas of the town: the main area, including the main shopping district, lies to the north of the railway line; while the mixed residential and industrial area of Beeston Rylands lies to the south.
Beeston Rylands
Beeston Rylands was historically at greater risk of flooding from the River Trent to the south; this meant that property here was less desirable and led to more modestly-sized houses being constructed, predominantly for the rental market. The last serious flood, in 1947, reached far beyond the railway line: most of Queens Road was flooded as was Nether Street.
The construction of strengthened flood defences has reduced the risk of flooding to a probability of once every fifty years. A series of flood defence improvements, costing £51 million and designed to reduce incidents of flooding to once every one hundred years, began in 2009 along a 17 miles (27 km) stretch of the River Trent.
University of Nottingham
The eastern edge of Beeston abuts the University of Nottingham's University Park campus, through which runs Beeston Lane.
Although most of the University is within the City of Nottingham's boundaries, around half of the self-catering flats in the Broadgate Park hall of residence fall within the borough of Broxtowe (and therefore Beeston). Nearer still to the town centre is Albion House, which is associated with the main Broadgate Park site.
Beeston has a large population of postgraduate students, who supposedly prefer its quieter atmosphere compared to Dunkirk and Lenton, where many undergraduates live.
Wards
Beeston is subdivided into four wards for local government/electoral purposes within the borough of Broxtowe. These are Beeston North, Beeston Central, Beeston Rylands and Beeston West.
Beeston's town centre largely falls within the West and Central wards. The North ward includes some residential estates north of the A52 (Derby Road), including a very small part of the Wollaton urban area that falls within Broxtowe. To the west of this lies Bramcote Hills and the Bramcote ward. The original Beeston-Bramcote boundary is still marked on the A52.
The Beeston Rylands ward is considerably larger by area than the other three wards as it includes unpopulated floodplains of the River Trent and industrial areas, including the part of the Boots campus that falls within Broxtowe. The Rylands ward also extends north of the railway line to Queens Road and includes the former site of Nottingham Rugby Club.
To the west of Beeston Rylands lies the Attenborough ward; while the Chilwell East ward lies to the west of Beeston West.
The ward boundaries were reviewed in 2000 and resulted in two notable changes to Beeston's western boundary. In the northwest, Beeston Cemetery and the residential streets immediately surrounding it (to the south of Derby Road) such as Coniston Road and Windermere Road, as well as the Nuseryman pub and the eastern part of Beeston Fields Golf Course, were transferred to the Bramcote ward. Beeston did however gain some territory from Chilwell, including residential streets such as Park Road, Grove Avenue and Cumberland Avenue, as well as Central College and the small industrial area between Holly Lane and Wilmot Lane. The original boundary between the old Beeston and Chilwell parishes can still be identified by the change in road name at the site of the Hop Pole pub, from Chilwell Road (on the Beeston side) to High Road (on the Chilwell side).
Elections
The four wards of Beeston each return two councillors to Broxtowe Borough Council. In the 2007 local elections the Liberal Democrats won all seats in the North and West wards, whilst Labour won all seats in the Central and Rylands wards. The next elections to Broxtowe Borough Council will be held in 2011. For elections to Nottinghamshire County Council the town is covered by two electoral divisions: Beeston North (consisting of the North and West wards) and Beeston South & Attenborough (consisting of the Central, Rylands and Attenborough wards). Each division returns one county councillor and the most recent county council elections were held in 2009 – the Liberal Democrats won Beeston North and the Conservatives won Beeston South & Attenborough.
For elections to Parliament the town is part of the Broxtowe constituency. From 1974 to 1983 a Beeston constituency existed. The present Member of Parliament is Anna Soubry of the Conservative party, who won the seat from the Labour party at the 2010 general election.
History of local government
Beeston is an unparished area and has no town council, however it was a civil parish until 1935. The area of the parish was reduced slightly in 1933, with some parcels of land in the east transferred to the City of Nottingham; boundary posts were erected on the new Beeston-Nottingham boundary and many of these are still in place today, with "1933" marked on them. The present four wards which constitute Beeston today cover the same post-1933 area of the old parish, with the two recent alterations made to the western boundary, as described in the "Wards" section above.
From 1935 until 1974 (when the borough of Broxtowe was formed) Beeston was paired with the town of Stapleford (2 km to the west) in the Beeston and Stapleford urban district. Previously a Beeston Urban District existed, covering the Beeston parish. The town was the administrative centre of Beeston and Stapleford Urban District Council and is the administrative centre for Broxtowe Borough Council, which have their head offices on Foster Avenue at Beeston Town Hall and the other council buildings situated there.
Geographic locale
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Ilkeston, Stapleford, Bramcote | Wollaton, Bilborough | University Park, Dunkirk, Lenton Nottingham |
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| Ockbrook, Sandiacre Derby |
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Boots Estate, West Bridgford | ||
 Beeston  |
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| Sawley, Long Eaton, Toton East Midlands Airport |
Attenborough, Barton in Fabis, Gotham | Clifton, Ruddington |
Origins of the name Beeston
The earliest recorded name given to the area was Bestune. This is now generally thought to be derived from "bees" = an abundance of honey bees and "tune" a farmstead settlement. The description of local pasture is still preserved in the name of Beeston Rylands. However, there are alternative derivations from "Bedestun" = the farm of Bede.
In the late nineteenth century, a genteel convention was contrived that the town's name derived from bee. This would have also been consistent with the notion of Beeston as a "hive of industry". The bee was adopted as the emblem of the town council. Beehives appear carved in the brick of the town hall exterior, and in 1959 three bees were included in the coat of arms adopted by Beeston and Stapleford Urban District Council. However, as this derivation was known to be dubious, the College of Arms subtly included some long grasses entwined with meadow crocuses in the arms as an alternative visual pun on the more likely origins of the name. With the formation of Broxtowe District (later Borough) Council in 1974, the bees were carried on to its coat of arms, representing Beeston. The tradition of the bee as symbol continues – the litter bins and other street furniture in the High Road are decorated in black and gold, with a symbol of a bee on each.
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", "the man of Beeston", "The Beekeeper" or "Bee King", though its actual title is 'The Beeston Seat'. This was designed and sculpted by renowned artist Sioban Coppinger in 1987, modelled on her friend Stephen Hodges as he 'has that timeless ability to exude calm when all else are succumbing to stress'. The piece is a popular photo opportunity to visitors to Beeston, frequently being dressed in hats and scarves in cold weather, and sun hats and sunglasses in summer.
History
Domesday
In Bestune, at the Conquest, Alfag, Alwine, and UIchel, the Saxons had three manors consisting of three carucates of land assessed, which was taken from them, and given to William Peverel, the lord of Nottingham Castle, who had in his demesne, or chief manor estate, 2 plough teams, there being 17 bond tenants, called villeins, who were unable to leave the estate without the lord's consent, and yet each cultivating, say, 15 acres (6.1 ha) of arable land, and 1 ordinary tenant, called a sochman, who together had 9 plough teams. There were 24 acres (9.7 ha) of meadow, and the annual value of the estate was 30/–.
Nineteenth century
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.
Between 1880 and the turn of the century, Thomas Humber and his partners were making bicycles and eventually motor-cycles and cars at a large factory at the junction of what is now Queens Road and Humber Road. At its height it employed 2000 although this came to an abrupt end in 1907 when the company moved all operations to Coventry.
Twentieth century
In 1901 the National Telephone Co., Ltd. established a factory in Beeston for making telephone material. This was taken over by the British L.M. Ericsson Manufacturing Co., Ltd., in 1903. Shortly before the transfer, most of the old factory was destroyed by fire, and in the rebuilding it was extended. A new power station was built. In 1906 and 1907 a large new building was erected, chiefly devoted to cabinet work. The old factory building covered an area of 63,000 sq ft (5,900 m2)., and the cabinet factory 70,000 sq ft (6,500 m2)., whilst the power station had an area of 7,000 sq ft (650 m2)., making a total covered space of 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2). Although most of the factory buildings were low rise, a Paternoster lift survived in E block at the site, until it was demolished in 2016.
Under the Plessey name these large premises continued to be a major source of local employment through the 1980s. Plessey became GPT with GEC's involvement. With the various restructurings of the GEC group and its rebranding as Marconi, a large part of the site was sold to Siemens along with the private telephone networks side of the business. Siemens sublet a substantial part of the site as a "technology park" when they moved most manufacturing overseas. SMS Electronics were formed from an MBO of the Manufacturing facility of Siemens in 2003, SMS won the Queens Award for Export in 2012 and employs over 200 staff.
The whole site was acquired by HSBC in 2006 for a mixed-use "employment-led" redevelopment, in 2007 a new building was constructed for Atos Origin which at the time was the largest pre let building in the Midlands.
The Boots campus includes three listed modernist buildings designed by engineer Owen Williams (two Grade I, one Grade II), though they are very difficult to see from any public highway. It also includes a later, Grade II* listed building by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
Motor manufacture returned to Beeston for a short period in 1987 when The Middlebridge Company set up a small factory on Lilac Grove and produced 77 Scimitar cars. The company went into liquidation in 1990.
Beeston Maltings was in operation until the late 20th century. The buildings are on Dovecote Lane opposite the Victoria Hotel, but as of 2007 are scheduled for demolition to make way for housing. Demolition commenced in September 2012, and by the end of 2013, the entire site had been cleared.
Twenty-first century
Proposals to build a light rail (tram) line through the town as part of an extension to the Nottingham Express Transit system were approved by the Government in 2009. A motivation was the traffic jams on local roads during rush hour periods. There was some opposition to the scheme by local traders and those along the proposed route, who stated that they feared that during the construction work, business would be adversely affected and that the scheme was being imposed without concern for locals. However, a survey in 2004 by Nottingham Express Transit showed strong local support for the scheme. The line opened on 25 August 2015.
Demography
Beeston has a population of 37,000 people, of whom 71.2% are classed as White British and 28.8% as different ethnicities, with 10.3% Chinese, 10.25% European, 2.7% Indian, 2.11% Pakistani and 3.4% other.
The average household size is 2.40 and the population density 49.40 per hectare. The age ranges are 16.3% 16 to 24, 20.9% 30 to 44, and 18.06% 45 to 59.
Transport
Trains
The Midland Counties Railway from Nottingham to Derby through Beeston opened on 30 May 1839. It later became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway company and then the London Midland Region of British Railways.
Beeston station today has frequent rail links served by East Midlands Railway and CrossCountry. Direct trains to and from London St Pancras call hourly, with typical journey times for 123 miles (198 km) of just under two hours. Other regular direct services serve Nottingham, Derby, Lincoln, Bedford, Burton-on-Trent, Leicester, Loughborough, Tamworth, Newark Castle, Luton, East Midlands Parkway, Birmingham New Street and Matlock. There are daily weekday trains to Gloucester, Cardiff and Bournemouth.
Buses and trams
Skylink Nottingham: Nottingham > Lenton > Beeston > Chilwell > Long Eaton > Castle Donington > East midlands Airport: Continues every hour to EMA gateway, Coaville or Loughborough.
13: Nottingham > Wollaton > Bramcote > Beeston.
Indigo: Nottingham > Lenton > Beeston > Chilwell > Long Eaton: Continues every 20 minutes to Derby Or Briar Gate.
I4: Nottingham > Lenton > Beeston > Bramcote > Stapleford > Sandiacre: Continues every 20 Minutes to Sandiacre estates or Derby
18: Nottingham > Lenton > Beeston > Beeston Rylands > Beeston: Continues hourly to Stapleford.
36: Nottingham > Lenton > Lenton Abbey > Beeston > Chilwell (Inham nook).
36B: Nottingham > Lenton > Lenton Abbey > Beeston.
36U: Nottingham > Lenton > University of Nottingham > Beeston > Chilwell.
20 Sundays only: Nottingham > Lenton > Beeston > Beeston Rylands > Beeston > Bramcote > Stapleford > Trowell > Ilkeston > Heanor.
21: Nottingham > Lenton > Bramcote > Stapleford > Trowell > Ilkeston > Heanor.
N34: Nottingham > Lenton > University Of Nottingham > Beeston.
N36: Nottingham > Lenton > Lenton Abbey > Beeston > Chilwell (Inham Nook).
517: Beeston > Toton > Stapleford > Sandiacre > English Martyrs Voluntary Academy.
510: Beeston > Attenbrough Village > Chilwell > Toton > Toton Lane Tram Park And Ride > Stapleford.
525: West Bridgford > Beeston > Chilwell School.
536: Beeston > Chilwell > Toton Circular.
49: Nottingham > Electric Avenue > Queens Park And Ride > Beeston (Boots).
49A: Nottingham > Electric Avenue > Beeston (Boots).
49X: Nottingham > Beeston (Boots).
Red Arrow: Nottingham > Beeston > Bramcote > A52 > Derby.
TRAM: Toton > Beeston > Lenton > Nottingham > Hucknall.
Roads
The Nottingham and Derby Road was turnpiked in 1758–1759. Tolls were removed in 1870. A branch of the Nottingham and Ashby Turnpike Road, usually called the Sawley branch, went through Beeston. In 1831 a four-horse daily coach to Birmingham was advertised.
The present Nottingham–Derby A52 road touches the north of the town. Junction 25 of the M1 motorway is 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi). The town centre has municipal car parks owned by Broxtowe Borough Council, as well as supermarket car parks.
Canals
The Nottingham Canal from Trent Bridge to Langley Mill, via Nottingham and Lenton was authorised in 1790 and completed by 1802. It allowed goods traffic from the Erewash valley to bypass the River Erewash and River Trent. In response, a Beeston Canal was promoted by the Trent Navigation Company in 1794. This stretched from Beeston Cut to Lenton, over a weir at Beeston Rylands. Originally there was a second lock at Beeston Cut for small vessels to enter the Trent below the weir, but this was abandoned about 1940.
Cycles
The National Cycle Route 6 (London – Keswick) passes through Long Lane Attenborough, then along the pavement of Queens Road and Lilac Grove, past Nottingham University and the Queen's Medical Centre, where it turns left towards Wollaton and Bulwell. A circular "Big Track" for cyclists and pedestrians follows towpaths along the Trent and Beeston Canal. The Erewash Valley trail passes along the western side of Beeston. Several other cycle routes are signposted.
Built environment
Beeston has a number of historic buildings, including its manor house and parish church of St John the Baptist. The church dates from the 11th century but was largely rebuilt in 1843 by Sir George Gilbert Scott. Both are included in the West End conservation area which includes a considerable number of buildings, many historical or of character, along the streets of Dovecote Lane, Grange Avenue, West End, and Church Street. Also included in the area is the historic Village Cross.
An act was passed for enclosing lands in the parish of Beeston, and in 1809 the Commissioners stated that the lands amounted to 822 acres (3.33 km2), to be made tithe free, and the ancient enclosed lands and homesteads liable to tithe was £687 2s 29d. They then proceeded to fix the width of the roads. The Nottingham and Derby turnpike road was fixed at 50 foot (15 m). Wollaton road, then called Cowgate, was 30 foot (9.1 m). The Inclosure not only altered the appearance of part of the parish from a moor growing poor grass, to cultivated fields with hedges, and thereby increasing the food supply, but it relieved farmers from the annoyance of having to hand over the tenth of their product in kind.
Some lands on or near Bramcote Moor, but in Beeston parish, were enclosed in 1847, by provisional order of the Inclosure Commissioners.
Before the introduction of gas generally in the parish there was a limited supply from the Mill to separate houses. The Church was first lit with gas in 1857. The Public Lighting Act was adopted at a Vestry Meeting on 13 November 1862. The opposition to lamps in the streets was strong, and the effigy of an active promoter of it was carried on an ass round the village and hung on a lamp-post, and but for police interference would have been burned. In 1861 gas was supplied from Nottingham by the Nottingham Gas Light and Coke Company, and for street lamps in 1872. Beeston was connected to the mains water supply in 1876.
The crenellated listed building of the Anglo Scotian Mills remains on Wollaton Road to the north of the town centre. It is a solitary reminder of the former dominance of silk and lace mills on the local skyline. The buildings have been converted into apartments by a developer.
A cottage on the north side of Anglo Scotian Mills was reputed to have the tallest domestic chimney in England. Its length was necessary to reach over the roof of the Mill. Although the cottage has been demolished for several years, the chimney can still be seen attached to the wall of the Mill.
A rare survival is the G H Hurt & Son Shawl Factory, which is occasionally open to the public. Shawls are produced on knitting machines and hand finished in much the same way as they have been for centuries. The factory contains examples of knitting frames from the 17th century.
Lost industrial buildings include the rebuilt silk mill and the looming bulk of the Neville Works mill on the boundary with Chilwell (later occupied by the Myford lathe factory).
The Land Societies
St John's Grove Estate
Following the enclosure of the land surrounding Beeston in 1809 the area of St John's Grove was allotted to the vicar of the parish church. In 1878 the land was acquired from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners by the Beeston Land Society, a group of citizens, who divided the land out into 28 plots of between three-quarters and 1-acre (0.40 ha) and set out the wide straight streets. The majority of the houses are of Edwardian and late Victorian origin. The Land Society set conditions for the developers including no public houses, and strict building lines which ensured that properties were set back a consistent distance from the road. The St John's Grove Estate is now a conservation area.
Imperial Park Estate
Shortly after 1878, the Imperial Park Land Society and it sister organisation Beeston Building Society were founded. Together, they aimed to assist the development and financing of superior housing, centred on what is now Imperial Road, north of Newton Street, adjacent to the St John's Grove development and bounded on the north by North Street. The early model was saving by a group of subscribers and the allocation of funds as they accumulated by the drawing of lots, in turn for each of them to build a house.
Bellevue Park Estate
This initial success was repeated when, in 1881, a syndicate acquired land from George Fellows, of the banking family that had its home at Belle Vue, now Beeston Fields Golf Club. The Belle Vue Land Society was formed to develop this land using similar methods to Imperial Park. The development lay to the north and formed a continuation to Imperial Park. Denison Street formed its northern extreme and Montague Street defined its eastern limit.
Cottage Grove
Cottage Grove, which historically was just outside Beeston parish and part of Chilwell, was originally promoted by the Labourer's Friend Society in the 1840s as plots for cottages with allotments for the labouring poor. This scheme failed and the area now consists mostly of Victorian and Edwardian houses laid out along the parallel Park Road and Grove Avenue and the two short cross streets Cedar Road and North Drive. The area retains a leafy character and the roads remain unkerbed, and has been a conservation area since 2008.
The Estates today
Some areas originally developed by the Land Societies have been spoiled where original plots have been subdivided and more modern properties built in styles not in keeping with some of the original buildings. Many of the properties in the Imperial Park and Bellvue Estates have lost their original elegance with the lowering of chimney stacks, inappropriate replacement of windows and doors with modern PVCu, the loss of hedged fronts to brick walls or fencing, and paving over front gardens for parking.
Other development
A particularly fine Methodist Church was constructed by the architect W.J. Morley of Bradford on Chilwell Road in 1902. Its landmark spire is now visible from afar since the demolition of several large mill buildings in the 1990s. The front of the building is floodlit at night, contributing to local light pollution.
Rylands was originally a small settlement around Beeston Lock, comprising some tens of houses and two pubs, although the name now refers to all of the area south of the railway line. The Jolly Angler was originally on the river side of the canal, but has since moved. Beeston began to spread south of the railway line in the late 19th century when a few Victorian villas were built near the level crossing by the station. Over the first few decades of the 20th century, several estates were built to house the workers at Ericssons and Boots, both of which had large factory sites also south of the railway line, and these estates joined Beeston and Rylands. Further post-WWII development filled in the gaps, initially with an estate of council houses and flats, and latterly with private houses and bungalows. The last significant development was in 1970 of Meadow Farm, now the four roads of timber-framed semi-detached houses between Beech Avenue and the canal. Since then Beeston Rylands has had only a small amount of infill development.
Almshouses
The United Charities of Abel Collin moved from the centre of Nottingham to their current location on Derby Road in Beeston during the 1950s.
Public art
See List of public art in Beeston
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Economy
Beeston is home to many national and international companies. Of the 470 companies based in Beeston, the largest are Boots, Changan, Imperial Tobacco, ZF, Atos and Chinook Sciences. Other local companies include metalworking lathe manufacturer Myford and the internet firm Webfusion (now part of PIPEX Communications).
Sport
Beeston is home to England Hockey Premier League team Beeston Hockey Club who play at Highfields Sports Club on University Boulevard.
Until 2006, Beeston was home to Nottingham Rugby Club, which sold the land next to the railway line (now the Birkin Fields housing development) and moved to share the Meadow Lane pitch at the Notts County ground. Nottingham Casuals Rugby Club still plays on the rugby pitches at Weirfields near the canal.
The two golf courses adjacent to the town are Beeston Fields and Chilwell Manor. A short distance to the north is Bramcote Hill Golf Club and to the north-east the golf course at Wollaton Park.
Beeston is home to several well-established football clubs, including Beeston Amateur Football Club (Beeston AFC), which has two men's Saturday sides that play in the Nottinghamshire Senior League and the Midland Amateur Alliance respectively, and Beeston Town FC, which plays its home games at Highfields and competes in Division One of the Long Eaton Sunday League.
Beeston Athletics, formally Ericsson AC & Plessey AC, is now based at Chilwell Olympia and meets on Wednesday and Friday evenings and on Sunday morning. It also organises a five-mile race in May or June
Notable people
In alphabetical order:
- Richard Beckinsale (1947–1979), an actor known for roles in BBC sitcoms Porridge and Rising Damp, grew up in Beeston, attending College House Junior School and Alderman White Secondary Modern School.
- Bent (1999 onwards): duo making electronic music
- Anne Briggs (born 1944): folk singer
- Judith Church (born 1944): local historian
- Neil Cossons (born 1939), former chairman of English Heritage, grew up in Beeston, attending Church Street School, where his father was headmaster. He worked for a time as a porter at Beeston railway station.
- Bryn Elliott (1925–2019): professional footballer born in Beeston
- William Gidley Emmett (1887–1985): industrial chemist born in Beeston
- Robert William Felkin (1853–1926): medical missionary and explorer, ceremonial magician and member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
- John Fellows (1881–1942): professional cricketer born in Beeston
- Albert Flewitt (1872–1943): professional footballer born in Beeston
- Barry Foster (1931–2002): actor famous as the Dutch detective Van Der Valk
- William Foster (1859–1944): county cricketer born in Beeston
- Ernest Hayes (1898–1938): a three-time Military Medal winner in the First World War, he died in Beeston.
- Alice Levine (born 1986): broadcaster and model
- Edward Joseph Lowe (1825–1900): a botanist and meteorologist, he lived in Beeston for most of his working life.
- Frederick Micklethwait (1817–1878): lawyer and cricketer born in Beeston
- Frank Pegg (1902–1991): professional footballer born in Beeston.
- Sir Paul Smith (born 1946): fashion designer who attended Beeston Fields Primary School
- Edwin Starr (1942–2003): soul singer, who lived and died in Beeston.
- Baroness Stowell of Beeston (born 1967): a former Leader of the House of Lords, she attended Chilwell Comprehensive School.
- John Taylor (1849–1921): a county cricketer, he was born and died in Beeston.
- Adam Tedder: actor and musician born in Beeston
- William "Bendigo" Thompson (1811–1880): bare-knuckle boxer
- Frederick Thornhill (1846–1876): county cricketer born in Beeston
- W. F. Wallett (1806–1892): a 19th-century clown known as The Queen's Jester, he reportedly performed before Queen Victoria.
- William West (c. 1548–1598): lawyer and legal writer born in Beeston
- Paul Wright (born 1973): racing cyclist born in Beeston
Images for kids
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Beeston Town Hall
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Victorian villas on Dovecote Lane in 2007
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Beeston Square in 2006
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Beeston's main Post Office opened in 1935, was extended in 1961 and closed in the early 2000s; it is now a public house (shown here in 2009)
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The Victoria Hotel public house in 2007
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Beeston Weir in 2007
