A trip down memory lane at what made the headlines in years gone by.

10 YEARS AGO

SHOP CLOSURE: The National Trust announced it was to close that summer as part of cost-saving measures. The charity decided that the shop, which had operated from the corner of Market Street for decades, was no longer viable.

OLYMPIC PREP: Preparations to mark the Olympic Flame passing through the district that June could begin following the confirmation of the Torch Relay's exact route. The journey would take in Prudhoe, Stocksfield, Hexham and Riding Mill on the afternoon of Saturday, June 16, it was announced.

25 YEARS AGO

COUNCIL REPRESENTATION: Prudhoe and Hexham were to get more representatives on Tynedale District Council, it was reported. The two towns, which between them included more than a third of Tynedale's population, were to each receive two new councillors to cope with rising populations.

A69 BYPASS: The A69 Haltwhistle bypass was set to open two months ahead of schedule. Road Link, a consortium of businesses, had chosen in 1996 to manage the A69 for 30 years, commissioned work to start on the bypass the previous April.

50 YEARS AGO

CLUB LAUNCHED: Dontino’s, the £40,000 Hexham nightclub named after then owner Donald Adamo’s children Donald and Christine, was granted a drinks licence by the town’s licensing justices.

VETERAN VILLAGER MOURNED: Corbridge’s oldest resident, Janet Foreman, died, aged 98.

WALL PULLS IN PUNTERS: Hadrian's Wall was proving more popular than ever with tourists. Figures for the previous year revealed that 122,100 people had paid Housesteads a visit and 102,200 had called at Chesters.

FARM BLAZE: Fire destroyed 1,000 bales of hay stored at Wylam Wood Farm, Wylam. Children playing with matches were believed to have been to blame for the blaze.

SCHOOLS FACE THE AXE: Bingfield Primary School, near Great Whittington, was to close and Elsdon's first school was expected to follow suit, it was announced.

75 YEARS AGO

STORM OVER SNOWSTORM: Hexham rural councillors criticised the county council for the inadequacy of its snow-clearing operation. Despite the council having spent £200,000 county-wide, £5,000 of which went on clearing Allendale’s roads, its efforts had been woefully inadequate, a meeting heard. Rural council chairman J.G. Nevin claimed the workers involved failed to put their “guts” into their task and could have got things done twice as quickly had they put in more effort.

MILK INITIATIVE: Hexham’s new dairy company launched a voucher scheme in a bid to save its milkmen time and thus make its delivery operation more efficient. This scheme consisted of customers paying for their milk with cardboard tokens obtainable from shops in the town instead of money to save milkmen having to spend time checking money and counting out change.

WATER SCHEME: A £5,300 scheme to improve Hexhamshire’s water supplies, by replacing the 2in mains pipe from the Kings Law springs to Whitley Chapel with a 6in one, was in the offing.

TRAIN TROUBLE: A Newcastle-Kielder train was stopped in its tracks by a landslide near Wall. None of the four passengers aboard were injured in this collision, but its fireman, Cecil Charlton, needed hospital treatment after being badly scalded.

100 YEARS AGO

RAILWAY RESOLUTION: Allendale Parish Council refused to accept that its suggested creation of a light railway line between the Allen Valley village and Eastgate in Weardale was a non-starter, despite its having been pooh-poohed by the Ministry of Transport, and resolved to approach the North Eastern Railway Company about it instead.

MAGPIES MAUL MICKLEY: Mickley’s football side were beaten by 5-0 by Newcastle United’s reserves in a Homes Cup tie at St James’ Park.

125 YEARS AGO

BUILDING BRIDGES: A new bridge was built at Mumps Hall, Gilsland.