Amongst this year’s line-up are Heritage Open Days, pop up proms, the popular D.H. Lawrence Music Festival, guided walks, talks, lectures and a new portrait exhibition.

The festival has been co-produced by the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum, which is owned and managed by Broxtowe Borough Council, along with the D.H. Lawrence Society, Haggs Farm Preservation Society and Ben Mark Smith of the D.H. Lawrence Music Festival.

“Broxtowe Borough is a place which is steeped in heritage. From its associations with people who were independent thinkers, creatives and revolutionaries like D.H. Lawrence, to the many diverse people, groups and organisations that have made Broxtowe their home today,”

said Councillor Chris Carr, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Health at Broxtowe Borough Council.

“The D.H. Lawrence Festival is a great example of how this cultural richness has continued to live on amongst our local community and with a wide range of events on offer as part of the festival, there really is something for everyone, whether you are familiar with D.H. Lawrence or not. The D.H. Lawrence Music Festival, which is part of the programme, is also a great way for us to not only celebrate existing performers but also discover new talent and inspire the next generation of artists. I’d like to thank all those involved in organising what promises to be a series of events, as well as the local people and businesses in and around Eastwood who have supported us.”

he added.

The festival officially opens on Friday 1 September at 7.00pm at the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum on Victoria Street, Eastwood where you can pick up a festival brochure and view last known portrait of D.H. Lawrence himself as part of a new exhibit.

This year’s full event programme includes:

Literature

Monday 4 September, 10.00am – Wellbeing Walk

As part of the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum’s monthly wellbeing walk series, this month’s special festival walk will walk the Blue Line Trail, taking in the many sites in Eastwood with a connection to Lawrence and his work. Tea and coffee will be on offer at the museum afterwards. Moderately hilly, circular walking route, approx. 1.5 miles.

Monday 4 September, 7.00pm – Reading Group led by Dr. Andrew Harrison

Reading Group on ‘Nottingham and the Mining Countryside’, led by Dr Andrew Harrison, acclaimed Lawrence expert, currently Director of the D.H. Lawrence Research Centre at the University of Nottingham, as well as a Lawrence biographer and founding editor of the Journal of D.H. Lawrence Studies. At the Horse and Groom, Moorgreen.

Wednesday 6 September, 7.00pm – D.H. Lawrence Society Midweek Talk (via Zoom)

The D.H. Lawrence Society will be hosting a talk on Carthusians and Beauvale Priory, hosted by Rolf Pentzlin, a social historian from Germany. Visit www.dhlawrencesociety.com for joining information.

Friday 8 September, 2.00pm until 4.00pm – Book Launch: ‘Lawrence’s Muse’

Haggs Farm Preservation Society will launch their latest publication, ‘Lawrence’s Muse: Jessie Chambers Wood through her own writing’ at Eastwood Library. Jessie was Lawrence’s first girlfriend and a very significant influence on his early life who encouraged him to write and publish. The book illustrates the range of Jessie’s own talents and interests as a writer, artist, correspondent and pacifist.

Tuesday 5 September – Series of talks on heritage, Lawrence and literature

Festival Local Conference Day Talks at Eastwood Baptist Church, Percy Street, Eastwood, hosted by Alan Wilson, Chairman of the D.H. Lawrence Society, including:

10.00am – 12.00pm

• The Barber Family: One half of the coalmining dynasty, led by David Amos, a former miner and expert on Nottinghamshire mining heritage.
• A vanishing world: Places we have now lost (Alan Wilson).

2.00pm – 4.00pm

• Lawrence, Literature and our Living Landscape (Malcolm Gray).
• Lawrence and the social environment (John Pateman).

Saturday 9 September, 10.00am until 4.00pm – The Lawrence/Leavis Conference

Directed by Bob Hayward, a talk on Leavis’ appreciation of the range of human potentiality in the art of Lawrence’s Tales.

Saturday 9 September, 7.00pm – The D.H. Lawrence International Birthday Lecture (via Zoom)

This year’s lecture, entitled ‘Horsing around St. Mawr’, will come from Australia, with David Game, author of ‘D.H. Lawrence’s Australia: anxiety at the edge of the empire’ discussing biographical contexts for Lawrence’s Novelette, as well as literary contexts in his two Austrialian novels. Visit www.dhlawrencesociety.com for joining information.

Music

Friday 8 September, 7.30pm – Organ Concert ‘Tuneful Airs’

Concert led by Celebratory Organist Alan Wilson, including music from local composers Eric Coates and Arthur Linwood, as well as some popular old favourites. Our Lady of Good Counsel Roman Catholic Church, Nottingham Road, Eastwood.

Saturday 9 September, from 2.00pm – D.H Lawrence Music Festival

Multi-venue music festival across Eastwood, with over 100 acts performing. Find out more at www.facebook.com/DHLawrenceMusicFestival or search the D.H. Lawrence Music Festival playlist on Spotify for a sneak preview of this year’s artists.

Sunday 10 September, 12.00pm– Pop Up Proms at the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum

Enjoy some jazz and classical music in museum gardens as part of the Heritage Open Day, thanks to Mish Mash Productions’ Pop Up proms series.

Sunday 10 September, 4.00pm – Festival ‘Songs of Praise’

Featuring the renowned Eastwood Male Voice Choir, alongside readings, performances and audience participation, the finale event will bring together the week’s events, inspired by Lawrence’s love of the local landscape and the human richness in the local community. At St Mary’s Church, Greasley.

Image credit: Tim Eastgate

Visual arts

Until 30 September – ‘Celebrating the Volunteers of Eastwood’ Exhibition

The exhibition will feature portraits from more than 30 local organisations, celebrating the volunteers of Eastwood who help improve the lives of people in the local community. The portraits have been taken by Lesley Grand-Scrutton and Anna Glew from The Beauvale Photography Group. Open during the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum usual opening hours or as part of the Heritage Open Days.

From 1 September – D.H. Lawrence Portrait Exhibition

The last known portrait of D.H. Lawrence will be on display in his hometown for the first time. Created by artist Joep Nicolas (1897-1972), the portrait has been recently acquired by Nottingham City Museums, and will be on display at the Birthplace Museum for a year, before it finds a more permanent residence at Nottingham Castle.

Saturday 2 September, 10.00am until 4.00pm – Rag-rug making

Drop in to the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum gift shop any time during the day to master this traditional thrifty craft so you can recycle your old clothing into fabulous rugs.

Heritage

Sunday 10 September – Heritage Open Day at the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum

The D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum will be opening specially as part of the national Heritage Open Days. Step back in time to experience the traditional Victorian wash house, see the parlour; a room only for special guests, feel the warmth of the fire in the kitchen and have a wander around the parental and other bedrooms. The museum’s permanent exhibition features items from Lawrence’s family and even paintings created by the author himself. Ambience will be provided by Mish Mash Productions’ Pop Up Prom in the museum garden.

Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 September, 11.00am until 3.00pm – Heritage Open Day at The Breach House

A change to visit and have a guided tour of The Breach House, a typical miner’s cottage from the 1880s, D.H. Lawrence’s childhood home and the setting for The Bottoms in his novel Sons and Lovers. At The Breach House, 28 Garden Road, Eastwood.

Community

• Sunday 3 September, 10.15am – Festival of Thanksgiving Eucharist, Greasley Church –
• Wednesday 6 September, 1.15pm – Guided walk around Watnall Woods followed by cream tea at Greasley Church. Both the woods and the church feature in Lawrence’s work. Meet at Greasley Church.
• Thursday 7 September, 10.00am until 4.00pm – Open Day at St. Mary’s Greasley with talks, displays, music, tours and hospitality,
• Thursday 7 September, 7.00pm – Evening Vigil at Beauvale Priory, the setting for Lawrence’s short story ‘A Fragment of Stained Glass’. Beginning at the Gatehouse School Room and ending in the Priory Ruins (weather permitting).
• Friday 8 September at 9.30am – A Festival ‘Organ Mass’ at Our Lady of Good Counsel Roman Catholic Church, Nottingham Road Eastwood.

The D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum is where this literary legend was born on 11 September 1885. Only 30 minutes from Nottingham city centre, the Museum is a must see for fans of literature, and for those wanting to delve deeper into Nottingham’s literary heritage.

Step back in time to experience the traditional Victorian wash house, see the parlour; a room only for special guests, feel the warmth of the fire in the kitchen and have a wander around the parental and other bedrooms. The museum’s permanent exhibition features items from Lawrence’s family and even paintings created by the author himself.

Find out more at www.broxtowe.gov.uk/dhlawrencemuseum