Hexham Courant headline news in Tynedale up to 150 years ago

10 years ago

DAREDEVIL ACT: A sell-out audience of 250 people packed into Hexham Abbey to see a group of world-renowned free-running athletes take on the interior of the 1,300-year-old building. Stars of the performance, parkour team and urban acrobats 3RUN, incorporated the highest of the ancient stone pillars and ledges in the Abbey into a routine packed with breathtaking tricks and flips.   

COUNCIL REFORMS: Hexham MP Guy Opperman came under criticism for standing in the way of a council shake-up which could have brought 270 jobs to Hexham and 50 more to Prudhoe. Labour opponents said Opperman's stance could cost the Hexham economy £6.75 million.  

RECORD-BREAKING: Cyril Forsyth, a founder member of the leek club at popular Langley hostelry, the Carts Bogg Inn, got another chance of glory aged 88 when he won the annual show in record-breaking style. The Sinderhope stalwart produced a pair of leeks measuring 246.6 cu ins. 

25 years ago

BILLS SHOCK: Tony Lambert, 69, was shocked when he received a £480 bill from British Gas despite not having a gas appliance in his house. Council tenant Mr Lambert of Slaley received two more bills from the company and was threatened with court action to make him pay for the gas he had not used. 

RURAL CASH THREAT: Rural Tynedale was to miss out on vital European funding weeks after it seemed the district would retain its assisted status. The news was expected to be a blow to those who made their living from the rural economy and were reliant on European money. A spokesman for the district council said the Brussels cash was vital to Tynedale and losing the funding would be extremely unfortunate. 

Nicola Teasdale and Stuart Charlton at Holy Cross Church, Haltwhistle (Image: Danny and Angela Brannigan)

TRUCK WEDDING: A truck driver arrived in Haltwhistle dressed in a long silk oyster-coloured dress with ribbons on the shoulders and a veil. Nicola Teasdale and farmer Stuart Charlton were marrying at the town's Holy Cross Church. After a reception which attracted around 400 people, the couple went for their honeymoon in Ireland and were to make their home in Haltwhistle. 

50 years ago

MATERNITY CUTS: Hexham General Hospital's maternity unit was cut in size by almost a quarter. The transfer of 10 of the hospital's 44 maternity beds sparked an outcry among Tynedale GPs.

BLACK OUT: Damage to cables caused by an excavator left 3,300 Hexham householders without electricity for almost three hours. This was the second blackout to hit the town in two weeks.

SCHOOL BUILT: Work began on a new 420-pupil middle school being built at Ovingham. The £355,000 school was due to open in September 1975.

75 years ago

APPEAL OVER TARGET: An appeal for funds to repair and restore Allendale's parish church clock overshot its £135 target by almost £60. This surplus, said the vicar at the time, Canon Lewis, would go towards maintenance.

ESTATE PLAN: Plans were being drawn up for a new, 150-home housing estate to the east of the post-World War Two Comb Hill estate at Haltwhistle.

100 years ago

WALL INITIATIVE: The Government's Office of Works set about having Hadrian's Wall scheduled as an ancient monument to stop it from deteriorating further.

GARDENER DIES: Hexham man Thomas Irving, formerly head gardener at Wylam's Holeyn Hall and a long-time judge at Stamfordham's annual flower show, died aged 73.

PUB FLOODED: The Hare and Hounds Inn at Mickley was left flooded to a depth of several feet following a heavy rainstorm.

125 years ago

DOCTOR MOURNED: Thomas Stainthorpe, chairman of both Hexham Gas Company and Hexham Permanent Benefit Building Society, died aged 83. 

CEMETERY UNVEILED: A new burial ground was consecrated at Holy Trinity Church at Whitfield.

150 years ago

CHAPEL ON WAY: The cornerstone of a new Free Methodist chapel was laid at Plashetts, near Bellingham.