Great British Railway Journeys
On Saturday 30th September, the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum hosted a very special visitor. Broadcast journalist and former MP, Michael Portillo, was filming his TV programme, Great British Railway Journeys. This is currently in its ninth series. Utilising Bradshaw’s 1913 guidebook, ‘Bradshaw’s Through Routes to the Chief Cities’, Michael travelled by train from Sheffield to Langley Mill.
We were very fortunate, at the time, to have an original signed, first edition copy of Sons and Lovers on loan from Eastwood Library. This was published in 1913, the same year as the Bradshaw’s guide used for this series. Sons and Lovers was D.H. Lawrence’s third published novel. Dr Andrew Harrison, Associate Professor in English at the University of Nottingham, guided Michael Portillo around Eastwood. Dr Harrison then discussed the early life of D.H. Lawrence, and invited him into the Museum, to explore Lawrence further.
As an internationally renowned, significant cultural site, it was wonderful to receive recognition and to feature on this popular BBC programme.
Opening Times
The D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum reopens at 1.00pm on Wednesday 24th January, following the festive break and our annual deep clean. After this date our normal opening hours of Tuesday – Saturday, 10.00am – 4.00pm, will resume. If you fancy visiting the Museum, access is via guided tour only, with staff readily on hand to answer any of your questions. Entry times are 10.00am, 11.15am, 1.15pm and 2.30pm, with the whole tour lasting 1 hour and 15 minutes. You can find out more about visiting the Museum by following this link.
Broxtowe residents receive free admission to the Museum every Wednesday, so why not come along to explore your local heritage and the early life of Eastwood’s most famous author. Just quote the code DHLBRXZ18 and show us proof of address to claim your free tour of the Museum on Wednesdays.
The D.H. Lawrence Team
The episode will be aired on Wednesday 17th January at 6.30pm on BBC 2. If you miss it, you can watch this episode online, via the BBC iPlayer website.
