Hexham Courant news in Hexham and Tynedale 150 years ago

10 years ago

OPENCAST BATTLE: Villagers who had lived under the shadow of having a huge opencast site on their doorstep celebrated after UK Coal announced it had pulled out of controversial plans for 208 hectares of land at Hoodsclose, on the edge of Whittonstall. The application received 550 letters of objection, including 15 from parish councils.

Campaigners against the opencast mine said it would scar the countryside (Image: NQ)

POTHOLE CLAIMS RISE: Tynedale residents poured scorn on claims that the pothole nightmare would be eliminated by the end of the month. Northumberland County Council said it was on target to fill in a backlog within the following two weeks, after ploughing an extra £600,000 into the road repair programme.

FIREFIGHTER STRIKE: Contingency plans were in place at fire stations across the district as firefighters went on strike for 24 hours, which was the longest spell to date. 

25 years ago

TEACHING AWARD: A national award for high-quality teaching was to be presented to the Sele First School at a unique exhibition in the Queen's Hall. The Basic Skills Quality Mark for primary schools was awarded to the school in recognition of the high standards demonstrated across the board in the teaching of numeracy and literacy at the school.

RACE DIVERTED: A race at Hexham Racecourse was diverted after a skylark built a nest in the middle of the course. Clerk of the course Charles Enderby diverted the race track to keep horses away from the nest and its five newly hatched youngsters. 

TORY SWING: Tynedale Tories bounced back from the despair of near defeat in the last general election to become the single biggest party on Tynedale Council. The Tories doubled the number of seats they held from 11 to 22 in the prior week's local elections, giving them their biggest-ever representation on the council. 

50 years ago

SAFETY CALLS: Parish councillors at Riding Mill were calling for Whiteside Bank to be made safer following the latest in a series of crashes there. 

BIRTHDAY PARTY: Nenthead Methodist Church celebrated its centenary.

BIG FISH: Haydon Bridge angler Paul Beniams, 17, landed a 5lb 2oz brown trout in the River Tyne at Brigwood, near the village. His catch was believed to be among the biggest brown trout ever taken from the Tyne. 

FOOTBALLING FIRST: Alston's football team beat Penrith 2-0 to claim the Cumberland County Cup for the first time. 

75 years ago

WAR HERO TRACED: The body of Edward Glenwright, a Royal Air Force wireless operator and gunner killed in a bombing raid on Hamburg in Germany seven years earlier was traced to a military cemetery near Hanover. 

ON AIR: Northumberland's first police radio transmitter was installed at Allendale.

ROYAL MAIL: Mr and Mrs JS Wardle, of Wall, celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary and received telegrams from King George VI and the current Queen Mother to mark the occasion.

100 years ago

CHURCH BOOST: A bazaar held at Bardon Mill Public Hall raised £90 for the village's Methodist church. 

PONY AND TRAP TRAGEDY: Evelyn Lloyd, 12, of Abbey View in Hexham, died after the trap she was travelling in overturned while turning a corner near the town and she was thrown out. 

125 years ago 

PIT FATALITY: An engineer at Haltwhistle's South Tyne Colliery sustained fatal injuries after becoming entangled in a pumping machine there which he had been inspecting.

150 years ago

SHOOTING ACCIDENT: A man from Anick, near Hexham, had to have a hand amputated after a gun he was carrying exploded while he was out with a shooting party near Matfen.