Outcropping during the 1926 Miners Lockout.   

Return to Bestwood

As part of the centenary commemorations for the 1926 General Strike and Miners Lockout, David Amos and John Pateman lead a reading group on D.H. Lawrence’s short story, Return to Bestwood, as part of the 2026 D.H. Lawrence Festival of Culture.

Lawrence visited Eastwood (Bestwood in the short story) in mid-September 1926 as the Miners Lockout locally was starting to collapse and the return to work was gaining momentum. It was his last visit to his home town, he died just three and a half years later in March 1930, aged 44.

Return to work agreement in the Nottinghamshire coalfield, 20th November 1926

The reading group will discuss aspects of the text in relation to the history of the 1926 Miners Lockout locally, including events following Lawrence’s visit at the nearby Digby Colliery Company’s collieries (Digby and New London) in the autumn of 1926, which led to the formation of the breakaway ‘Spencer Union’.

D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum, Eastwood.

Venue: D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum, 8a Victoria Street, Eastwood, Nottinghamshire. NG16 3AW.

Date: Thursday, 10th September 2026 (7pm – 8.30pm)

Cost: Free event, but booking required via Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reading-group-return-to-bestwood-tickets-1988621672956

Attendees will have the option of visiting the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum prior to the event.

Blog by David Amos

Posted 22nd July 2026.