10 YEARS AGO

EYED UP: A potential last minute saviour, national department store chain Beales, expressed an interest in taking over the doomed Robb’s department store in Hexham.

ODDS ON: Bookmaker Betfred looked odds-on favourite to take over the vacant off-license premises on Market Place in Hexham, with plans to set up shop in the former Wine Rack store near Wetherspoons.

GREEN LIGHT: Work finally began on repairs to Hexham’s busiest pedestrian crossing, between the bus station and Robb’s, which had been damaged by a runaway bus at the start of April.

BLANKET BAN: Hexham Mayor Coun. Terry Robson said consideration should have been given to a blanket 20mph speed limit for Hexham, claiming that one of the town’s best residential areas had been blighted by 20mph signs.

25 YEARS AGO

RED HERRING: Hexham MP Peter Atkinson laid the blame for education cuts at the door of County Hall, but his criticism of Northumberland County Council’s spending priorities was dismissed as a “red herring” by a parents' pressure group.

TEEING OFF: Amended plans for a second golf course at the Slaley Hall Golf Course and Country Club were given the go-ahead by Tynedale Council planners, in the face of a stream of objections from the parish council and local residents.

PLAYING HOST: Delegates from Malta, Cyprus, and Corfu visited Tynedale to seek expertise from Tynedale Council on the development and management of “heritage tourism.”

BUSSED OUT: A vital lifeline for local communities – the Alston Postbus service – was axed less than a year after taking to the road after Cumbria County Council put the brakes on its financial support.

50 YEARS AGO

RESERVOIR PLANNED: It was confirmed that Otterstone Lea in the North Tyne Valley was to be the site for a planned reservoir, to be built by the Northumbrian River Authority. It was not until later that it was named Kielder Water.

BRIDGE BUILT: The Ministry of Transport agreed to improve the A69 trunk road at the Metal Bridge in Haltwhistle, following complaints from rural councillors.

EYESORE ROW: Allendale Parish Council and WI called on the county council to tidy up the depot in the village. This depot, they said, was a hideous eyesore that should never have been built in the first place.

BUS CONTROVERSY: Corsenside residents sent a petition to the Ministry of Transport objecting to the threatened withdrawal of their once weekly bus service to Hexham.

75 YEARS AGO

WALL FIRE: A family of nine was left homeless after a fire gutted their cottage at Wall.

FASCIST’S VISIT: The Courant reported that William Joyce, better known as Lord Haw Haw, who had just been arrested in Denmark, had visited Hexham nine years earlier to address a meeting organised by the British Union of Fascists. Joyce was later hung, and remains the last person in Britain to be executed for treason.

MORALS SOUND: Newcastle Diocesan Council for Moral Welfare worker, Phyllis Barnes, told a meeting in Hexham that the morals of the youth of the day were no worse than those of the previous generation.

FESTIVAL REVIVED: Plans to revive the Tynedale Musical Festival, which had not been held since the outbreak of World War II, were announced.

100 YEARS AGO

CRICKET CONTEST: A cricket match between married and single men was held at Haydon Bridge. The bachelors won by a hefty margin.

UNDER FIRE: Count poor law officers wrote to the Ministry of Health to complain about Hexham Board of Guardians’ refusal to go to arbitration over a dispute about war bonuses.

125 YEARS AGO

CHURCH OPENS: A new Presbyterian church was opened at West Woodburn.

TOP BRASS: Haltwhistle Musical Fete Association held a brass band concert in a field next to Greencroft Park.

150 YEARS AGO

COOKED UP: A tramp named Thomas Cook was brought up before magistrates on the charge of begging. He was committed to the House of Corrections for 14 days.

EXTRAORDINARY MENAGERIE: The Queen’s Menagerie, Wombwell’s Royal No.1, was set to visit Hexham. The Courant strongly advised readers to visit the travelling show, which featured lions and tigers.

EGGS GALORE: George Hopper owned a Dorkin hen that laid eleven eggs in eight days. One egg measured eight inches and and a quarter the long way and six inches and three quarters the other.

TURNPIKE ROAD: The trustees of the Allendale turnpike road held a meeting to appoint a new surveyor.