About This Site

This site has come about as a result of coincidence, an interest in local history and the amazing power of the World Wide Web.

Back in May 2002 I responded to request for information on Chilwell Hall (an old Nottinghamshire house demolished in the 1930s) which had been posted on the www. As an ex Chilwellian, I had heard my father's family talk about the Hall and passed on what I knew. I also mentioned that I had never seen a picture of it and would welcome the opportunity to do so if one existed.

Within hours of posting the reply, I received a message from David Hallam, a local historian in the Beeston/Chilwell area of Nottinghamshire, who attached a picture of the Hall and asked me my interest in it and the area. Several e-mails followed and by coincidence, it transpired that David had not only known members of my family well, but had detailed information on my family tree.

In one of the e-mails I mentioned the connection with the memorial to Sergeant Jowett in Beeston parish churchyard and by further coincidence it transpired that David had been involved in its restoration, during the 1970s. He was aware of Sergeant Jowett's diary but had never had the opportunity to read it. I sent a transcript of the diary. After reading it; and putting together other information I was able to provide, David sent me a copy of my family tree, going back to the !850s.

The data for this has been constructed from David's personal Beeston database, built up over a number of years and from a variety of sources. Anyone reading this page who has additional data on this or other families, local to the Beeston area, can contact David here.