10 YEARS AGO

RUN DOWN: Hexham’s iconic department store, Robb’s, was set to close with the loss of 129 jobs, after the administrators were called in for the second time in three years.

DAMMED UP: The mighty River Tyne was stopped in its tracks after a sewer burst near Hexham, meaning Northumbrian Water had to install a coffer dam to enable repair work to be carried out on the cast iron pipe.

OUT COLD: The already chilly relationship between Hexham Town Council and Northumberland County Council dipped several more degrees after town councillors arriving for the annual town meeting at Prospect House were locked out. One councillor said he was “deeply ashamed” at having to use the back door.

MP ELECTED: The 50-1 odds on favourite for the Hexham seat at the 2010 election, Guy Opperman, was elected, making him the area’s sixth consecutive Conservative MP.

25 YEARS AGO

A WOMAN!?: The Hexham Courant ran with the headline “Woman takes charge” after Tynedale Council appointed its first-ever Labour chairman, Coun. Marion Howard.

TRAVELLER EVICTION: Tynedale Council evicted a family of “gypsies” from a site near Aydon Castle, Corbridge, that they claimed they had occupied peaceably for years.

PUBLICLY OWNED: A new company “owned” by a whole town - the first of its kind in Tynedale -was to be set up in the latest move to try and lift recession-hit Haltwhistle out of the doldrums.

ALLEY ROW: A row broke out over plans to block off a Hexham town centre alley between Fore Street and the Goose Market, which was said to be a public convenience plagued by graffiti.

50 YEARS AGO

BOYCOTT BLOW A National Farmers Union boycott hit trade at Hexham Auction Mart, halving the number of animals up for sale.

PLANS POOH-POOHED: Objections to plans to build a pulp mill in Prudhoe were expressed at a public meeting held in the town.

CARNIVAL CANCELLED: Acomb’s annual British Legion carnival was cancelled for the first time in 19 years due to a lack of interest.

TRAVEL SCHEME: Plans for Haydon Bridge’s Waite Travel Scholarship Fund were drawn up prior to Edward Waite’s retirement as head of the village’s technical school.

75 YEARS AGO

RATION BOOKS: Distribution of ration books got under way in Tynedale, beginning in Wylam.

HOUSING PLEA: Bellingham Rural Council urged that steps be taken to alleviate the village’s housing shortage.

WELCOME HOME: A social evening for returned prisoners of war was held at St Cuthbert’s Parish Hall in Haydon Bridge.

WHIST DRIVE: A whist drive held at Allendale’s Temperance Hall raised £33 for Hexham’s War Memorial Hospital and Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary.

100 YEARS AGO

SERVANTS SCARCE: Servants were reported to be in short supply at Hexham’s annual May hirings.The few servants available went for record prices of up to £55 for six month’s work.

BOG OFF: The new fangled “water closets” came under attack in a reactionary article in the Courant, which urged that rural latrine systems be retained. It said: “Where the earth closet is properly managed and frequently cleaned out, the night soil being returned to the land, there can be, in rural areas, nothing more sanitary or economic.”

125 YEARS AGO

FATAL EXPLOSION: A miner sustained fatal injuries in a gas explosion at Heddon Colliery.

TOP TABLE: The Courant reported that a Mr Forbes, of Birtley, near Wark, had made a kitchen table out of 3,000 pieces of antique oak he had collected over the years. These pieces came from various sources, including castles, churches, and a Roman bridge across the Tyne.

150 YEARS AGO

HEIR BORN: The Countess of Elsdon gave birth to a son and heir at the family residence in Hamilton Place. Her ladyship and her infant son, Viscount Encombe, were reported to be doing well.

WELL DRILLED: Police and officers composing the Hexham division of the County Constabulary were drilled at Hexham by Drill Instructor Sgt Stewart of Alnwick. The 30 men were drilled on grass outside the court house.

LUCKY DOG: A dog that had been missing for ten days was found when another of his owner’s dogs went to a part of the estate and scratched and howled. Upon digging, farmer Mr Henderson discovered the missing dog stuck in a rabbit hole, where he’d gone down but been unable to turn around.

FAIR HELD: The Haltwhistle Fair attracted a good attendance of farmers and buyers, with a capital show of young cattle, most of the Galloway breed.