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Information and photographs submitted by subscribers are posted in good faith. If any copyright of anyone else's material is unintentionally breached, please email me

Bestwood - Emails
Bestwood Win Brass Band Finals 1956

Mary Wooldridge - Looking For ? Walker Of Bestwood. He Was Active In The Union At Bestwood 1900s
Colin Berresford - Was there an accident at Bestwood around 1898 that killed my G G Grandfather Samuel Berresford?
John Watts - Any Information, WOOD George Alfred, died Bestwood 1913 ish
Judi - John Hall Gaskell Died Bestwood Pit 1940 - Any Information?
Andrew Burton - Bestwood Colliery Nottinghamshire
John New - RE: Bentinck Colliery's winding engine
Glenda Stokes - Fatal accident at Bestwood Colliery 1911 to 1912
Robert Williams - Walter Cook, mechanic at Bestwood Pit or inventor of safety brake for trains

Two winding engine houses and pit heads at Bestwood

From:
Sent:
Subject:		 Mary Wooldridge
26 March 2014
Looking For ? Walker Of Bestwood. He Was Active In The Union At Bestwood 1900s

Hello Fionn
I am trying to find something out about a chap called Walker [I am sorry I don't know his first name]. He was active in the union at Bestwood later moving to a place called Corringham. I do know that he used to attend union meetings in London in the early 1900's.
Regards

Mary Wooldridge

From:
Sent:
Subject:		 Colin Berresford
21 December 2012
Was there an accident at Bestwood around 1898 that killed my Great, Great Grandfather Samuel Berresford?

Hello!,
Just came across this site. Fascinating stuff which I don't have time to read too deeply at present as I'm supposed to be working!

My Great, Great Grandfather Samuel Berresford, (1847-1898) who was originally from Crich in Derbyshire, moved his family from Unstone Green, Chesterfield, to the then recently sunk Bestwood Colliery, sometime around 1870-80. He is buried in St Marks churchyard in the village, His son John, grandson Arthur and great grandson Wilf (my Dad) were all raised in Park Road in the village.

Arthur later kept the Bestwood Hotel, which I'm told was sometimes used as a morgue, and for inquests, after accidents in the colliery. I spent many a happy hour in the Bestwood Hotel during the 1950s and 60s and as a small child I especially loved watching the little steam engines working in the pit yard. The view from the upstairs living quarters at the back of the pub was ideal.

My dad passed on in 1976, largely from 'the dust'. I went on to do a brief stint as an apprentice fitter for the NCB, before joining the Coal Board laboratories at Cinderhill for a couple of years. Most of the men in the family worked in the local pits at some point.

I've heard vague reports of a big accident of some sort at Bestwood around 1898. This would coincide with the death of Samuel Berresford at the relatively young age of 51 and I've often wondered if he might have been involved, but can find no evidence.

I have lived in Merseyside for the last 40+ years and now only visit Nottingham a few times a year, which makes researching a little more difficult.  However, I'm determined to find out how Samuel died.  May just have been natural causes.  I also want to trace him back beyond Crich.  I would hope to place his ancestors in the Beresford Dale/Alstonefield area on the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border, which is apparently the seat of Berresfordism. 

I visited the restored headstocks at Bestwood last year.  They look very good, but the area around has changed so much as to make it almost impossible to visualise what it was like as a working pit. 

I remember my Dad taking me into the winding house when I was maybe 8-10 years old.  I found it very scary at the time.

I'll try to write more when I have more time.

Colin

From:
Sent:
Subject:		 John Watts
09 January 2012
WOOD George Alfred
Births Mar 1881
WOOD George Alfred Mansfield  7b 75

Is this George ??

Dear Sir.
Further to my email 9 Jan 2005, (see below, along with reply from Alan Beales) I was wonder if you have any knowledge of a pit accident at Bestwood Colliery in Nottinghamshire round about 1913 resulting in the death of a man called Wood. We are not sure of his forename(s) but his initials could be J.H or S.

Kind regards.

John Watts. 

 

I am afraid I can not find anything relevant either. I tried Ian Winstanley's Site and got the following fatalities for 1890 - 1915 at Bestwood. Click On The Name to go to Ian's site.

BROWN William - 58 – 1913
BROWN William - 58 – 1913
BUTTERS Richard - 67 – 1910
DENNISON Robert - 56 – 1910
LEATHERLAND John - 56 – 1913
SLATER James Cyril - 18 – 1911
WHEAT Samuel - 54 – 1914
WOODWARD Alfred - 46 – 1915
BOYARD John - 61 – 1907
BOYARD John - 61 – 1915
VICKERS James - 20 - Nottingham1890

From:
Sent:
Subject:		 John Watts
09 January 2005
Info on colliery accident. Nottinghamshire.

Dear Sir.
I wonder if you have any knowledge of a pit accident at Bestwood Colliery in Nottinghamshire round about 1913 resulting in the death of a man called Wood. We are not sure of his forename(s) but his initials could be J.H or S. Kind regards.

John Watts.

From: Alan Beales
Sent: 23 February 2006
Subject: Bestwood 1913

Hi
In reply to John Watts the only fatality to any one named Wood in 1913 was George Alfred Wood aged 32 killed Babbington pit 25/6/1913. I am researching colliery deaths in Nottinghamshire and currently have around 1600 names.

Cheers
Alan Beales

From:
Sent:
Subject:		 Judi
10 May 2009
John Hall Gaskell Died Bestwood Pit 1940 - Any Information?

Hi

I wonder if you could please help me?

I'm looking for some information on my GGUncle John Hall Gaskell, John lived in Bulwell Nottingham & worked in Bestwood Pit......Details below

It was in 1940 that John died in a tragic mining accident at the Bestwood Pit. On the day of Johns death, John had been working as normal underground at Bestwood Pit, he had finished his shift & the machinery had been turned off, It was as he and a co worker were leaving for the night that they heard the machinery restart & John went back to investigate.

Due to the War Time blackout there were no lights to help John see to investigate the machinery, and John fell into the Creeper a moving mechanical steel conveyor, John sadly lost his life.

John was buried at Bulwell Cemetery at the top of Hempshill Lane a stones throw from the family house.

On the morning of Johns death his children had watched him awaiting the Pit bus in Bulwell High St, Granville Gaskell "Derrick & I saw dad squatting waiting for the Pit Bus in Bulwell market place, as we went to the allotment to collect some vegetables from his allotment"

Story also confirmed by his son Jack.

Please could you tell me if there was any newspaper coverage of this accident or indeed a coroners report. Perhaps someone might have memories of John Gaskell and his family.

Kind regards Judi

From:
Sent:
Subject:		 Andrew Burton
09 January 2005
Bestwood Colliery Nottinghamshire
I am Looking for Any old photographs of Bestwood pit, its railways etc or information on the above pit, or if you could point me in the right direction.

From:
Sent:
Subject:		 John New
14 February 2005
Bentinck Colliery's winding engine
Not doing too badly. I have failed on the Bentinck Engine and the only reference to anything preserved is your site’s reference to the sale of the wheels. Presumably to the Apedale Heritage Centre there. Their website is actually pretty naff. Too little information on what they have got in their collection to make you think “I want to see that” and go on a visit.

However I think the preserved engine they probably mean is the surviving one at Bestwood. Various references found on websites of that engine (Site now moved or gone). That one is to the Council information so probably a good place to start.

Newcomen Society have a mini-Conference in Nottingham in July so it ties in with the request for information on visiting. Hope this helps.

John New

Webmaster for Stephenson Locomotive Society

Waggonway Research Circle

Website

From:
Sent:
Subject:		 Glenda Stokes
1 January 2006
Fatal accident at Bestwood Colliery 1911 to 1912

Can anyone help with details of a supposed accident at Bestwood Colliery 1911 to 1912 in which my Grandfather William Grainger was killed.

Glenda

From:
Sent:
Subject:		 Robert Williams
01 January 2007
Walter Cook, a mechanic at Bestwood Colliery or inventor of safety brake for trains

Hello Fionn

I hope you don’t mind me emailing you – I came across your website because I am trying to find out more about my great grandfather – Walter Cook. My aunt told me that he invented a safety brake which she thought was for trains. But the only likely Walter Cook I can find on censuses was a mechanic at Bestwood Colliery outside Nottingham.

But that’s all I have found so far – I don’t know whether you can help at all – I thought you might have some ideas about where to find colliery records for example.

Any suggestions gratefully received!

Many thanks

Robert
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