The Hexham Courant headlines from up to 150 years ago

10 years ago

POET'S PLAQUE: The Haydon Bridge house where renowned poet Philip Larkin spent many holidays received a plaque to commemorate his visits. A hundred visitors turned out for a special ceremony to unveil a blue plaque on Ratcliffe Road, where the poet visited his friend and lover Monica Jones for more than 20 years after she moved into the property in 1961.

Competitors from the Rugrats float at Haltwhistle Carnival in 1999 put on happy faces after they met Border TV personality Heather Larcombe, who was the judge for the event. She awarded them second place in the best trailer category (Image: Tony Iley)

TRANSPORT MESS: With five days to go until the start of the new school term, many sixth formers were in the dark as to how they were to get to school. Northumberland County Council's decision to end free post-16 transport caused chaos among parents, some of whom said they would be so financially crippled by the cost of getting their children to school they were considering moving house.

CLUB'S GOAL: Local Prudhoe businessman Alex Waters applied to Northumberland County Council to create a new football pitch on the site of the former West Wylam Community Centre, which had been demolished following a fire. The plans to develop the eyesore and crime hotspot were met with objections from Prudhoe Town Council and one local resident. The new pitch was to be used by Prudhoe Football Club as well as being available to the wider community.

25 years ago

MUSEUM MOVE: A cycling museum and tea room was to be created at Kirkharle Farm near Kirkwhelpington after Tynedale Council's planning committee approved the plans. 

CLOSURE VOW: Damien Clark, landlord of the Fox and Hounds Inn at Stagshaw Bank, said the hotel and pub had lost £240,000 since he took it over five years ago. He blamed the strong pound which cost foreign holidaymakers more to come to Britain, and other factors such as strict drink-driving laws, for the losses and submitted an application to turn the pub into a six-bedroom family home.

JOB BOOST IMMINENT: Visitors to Hadrian's Wall were excited at plans to see a full-scale reconstruction of one of its Roman forts. The £4m reconstruction of Carvoran Fort, next to the Roman Army Museum in Greenhead, was planned to boast 18ft high walls lit by floodlights at night. Its reconstructed guard towers could have been up to 24ft tall. The development could have created 25 jobs for grounds staff, cleaners and shop workers.

50 years ago

INTERNATIONAL STARS: Children from 11 different countries staying at the Children's International Summer School in Hexham were being filmed by the BBC for a 50-minute documentary. 

MATCHED UP: An £8m deal was signed between the Airscrew-Weyroc chipboard and laminated board factory at Anick Grange, Hexham and Swedish Match. The deal did not affect the company's 200 employees. 

FINAL NOTES: Haltwhistle's 80-year-old organist Gilbert Abbott called it a day after playing the organ at Greenhead and Haltwhistle churches for a total of 66 years.

75 years ago

WASTED EFFORT: Prudhoe Urban Council abandoned its salvage drive after it failed to get rid of several tonnes of waste paper. The council tried to give the waste paper away but when this was unsuccessful, agreed to destroy the stock. 

SUMMER SUN: One of the sunniest days of the year was recorded in Hexham when residents enjoyed cloudless skies for 11 and a half hours.

BRIDGE TOO FAR: Dilston Parish Council came out against plans for a car park on the south side of Corbridge bridge due to its proximity to the Corbridge Maternity Hospital and the likelihood of congestion at the newly-constructed roundabout at the south end of the bridge.

100 years ago 

NO GOOSEBERRY FOOL: Mr WE Anderson of Close House, Wylam, showed members of the Newcastle and District Horticultural MI Society how it was done when he staged an exhibit of 62 trays of gooseberries containing 100 varieties which excelled in 'plumpness, juiciness and hairiness'.

MONSTER PIKE: Mr R Patterson, of East Moor House Farm, Matfen, 'piked' 80 large pikes of seed hay from a four-acre field. The average crop was about 12 pikes to the acre. 

FOOTPATH CALL: Calls were made for a footpath between Ponteland's Cottage Homes and the village after an 11-year-old girl was knocked down and killed on that stretch of road. 

125 years ago

LEAD BALLOON BURSTS: The WB lead smelting works at Allendale and Allenheads were dismantled and auctioned off. The works were amongst the most famous in the world in their time - only 50 years earlier, 10,000 tonnes of lead had left the Allendale and Weardale mines. 

CAPITAL TIME: A party of 25 Ovingham villagers left for a five-day sight-seeing trip in London. The parish vicar arranged the trip.

RIVER TRAGEDY: A five-year-old boy drowned in the South Tyne at Haydon Bridge after trying to rescue a toy which had fallen in the water.

150 years ago

FATAL STRIKE: An electrical storm struck at Allendale, killing a farmer at Middle Rigg, West Allen, and four cows at a farm further down the valley. The cows had been brought into a byre to be milked when lightning struck the building. 

HOUND SHOW: The dogs bred for the Tynedale Hunt were judged at the annual show at the Kennels near Stagshaw Bank.