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10 years ago
BRIDGE OF TIES: The bridge at Allen Banks was restored to its former glory after being destroyed by flash flooding in 2013. The National Trust started rebuilding work in August after £100,000 was raised through the online ‘Save the Wobbly Bridge Campaign’.
A69 UPGRADE: The case for dualling the A69 trunk road west of Hexham was put to Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne just days before he was to present his Autumn Statement.
LIGHTS OUT: Parts of Corbridge were plunged into darkness when a power cut left 64 properties without electricity.
25 years ago
SPEEDIER MAIL: Royal Mail customers in Tynedale looked forward to a speedier mail service when a new £1.1 million delivery office was to open in Hexham. The latest up-to-date letter sorting equipment was installed at the office at Bridge End Industrial Estate.
ROADBLOCK: A wagon carrying pet food and a chemical waste lorry collided near the Broomhaugh roundabout, Riding Mill, closing the road for two hours. The two drivers were treated for minor injuries.
INN REBIRTH: The Manor House Inn at Carterway Heads, which had burnt down earlier in the year, had a £300,000 refit and sold Firebrand beer to mark its reopening. The blaze, thought to have been caused by an electrical fault, gutted large parts of the ground and first floors 11 weeks earlier.
50 years ago
EXPANSION PLANS: William Robb and Son’s department store in Hexham announced £250,000 expansion plans, taking over the Red Dragon cleaners and Boot’s premises next door to strengthen Hexham’s role as a major out-of-town shopping area.
TRUE BLUES: Newly-weds Richard and Marion Sowler, of Greystead, broke off their honeymoon to chauffeur voters to the polls in the General Election on behalf of the Conservative Party.
75 years ago
SHORT SHRIFT: Applications from Hexham Urban Council officials for pay rises were given short shrift by council chairman Cllr Joe Cullen, who said if they were not satisfied, they should look for other employment.
END OF TRADITION: The Hexham Labour Party broke with Parliamentary tradition when they announced they would be putting up a candidate against Hexham’s sitting MP, Col. Douglas Clifton Brown in the forthcoming General Election. Mr Clifton Brown was Speaker of the House of Commons, the holder of which office was traditionally returned unopposed.
GASWORK TRAGEDY: A worker at Hexham Gasworks died after being overcome by escaping gas in a pit on the premises, an inquest was told.
100 years ago
RATS TO THAT: Hexham Rural Council decided not to participate in the Ministry of Agriculture’s National Rat Week, pointing out that crows and wood pigeons were a bigger problem in this area.
TOO QUICK: A policeman who spotted a car travelling down Brunton Bank at Wall at a speed he estimated to be at least 50mph told Hexham Petty Sessions it was the worst case of dangerous driving he had ever seen.
125 years ago
RAISING A STINK: After receiving complaints about the smell from the town’s varnish works, Haltwhistle Parish Council decided to take no action when the owners explained the odour was principally pine tree essence, which people travelled long distances to inhale for the good of their health. The people of Haltwhistle had it brought to their doors for nothing.
NO WATER: The Local Government Board was asked to improve the deficient supply of water to Haltwhistle, where there were 20 houses to the north and east of the tow which had no supplies at all.
TOP TUPS: At the annual ram sale at Wark, the top price paid was £4 12s 6d for a Border Leicester from Pasture House.
150 years ago
LAST OF THE LINE: Robert Ridley, one of the last of Hexham’s famous glovers, responsible for the famous Hexham Tans, died at the age of 85.
OFF THE MARK: Around 150 people attended a soiree to celebrate the founding of the Hexham Young Men’s Christian Association.
