The Nottinghamshire town of Beeston as we know it today began life as an Anglo-Saxon settlement close to the banks of the River Trent. By the late eighteenth century the town had developed into a thriving textile centre. The nineteenth century saw a new mix of other industries, including famous names like the Humber Works and Boots the Chemist. Over the last decade Beeston has witnessed its greatest change with the introduction of an extension of Nottingham city’s tram network. Local authors and historians Frank E. Earp and Joseph Earp delve into the town’s murkier past in this unique approach to its history, blending the serious with the not so serious, and seeking out its hidden secrets.

With an interest in folklore, mythology and local history for over 40 years, Frank E. Earp has established himself as one of Nottinghamshire's leading folklorists and historians. For the last six years he has been a feature writer for a local free newspaper, The Post Lite, contributing a weekly column on local history, legends, folklore and fascinating facts. Born in 1951, in a haunted house in Wollaton, Frank has taken more than a passing interest in the paranormal. In the late '60s he involved himself in the U.F.O. phenomena and later Earth Mysteries, a subject he still writes about today. Joseph Earp is a Nottingham-based historian and writer. He has already written five books on Nottingham local history including: Nottingham From Old Photographs, Secret Nottingham, Victorian and Edwardian Nottingham Through Time, Secret Beeston and Lost Nottingham. Joseph also runs the Nottingham Hidden History Team. Joseph has also appeared on BBC East Midlands Today and BBC Radio Nottingham as historical advisor for the programme on Huntingdon Beaumont and Britain’s first railway line. He has also wrote a series of local history articles for the Nottingham Post, Nottingham Bygones, The Topper Newspaper and Our Nottinghamshire website. Joseph is currently History Editor for the Beestonian magazine. He also regularly writes for LeftLion Magazine, his previous Street Tales series being particularly popular with LeftLion readers.