From the Evening News, September 27, 1976

25 YEARS AGO

MORE than 2,000 customers from throughout the North of England are backing a Farnworth discount store's fight for survival.

The store, operated by Northern Industries at Cobden Mill, faces a Council ban on its trade in household goods. Now the firm is asking customers to sign a petition urging Bolton Council to reconsider.

Northern Industries moved into the second floor of the mill 12 years ago with planning permission for a mail order business. Mail order gradually gave way to normal retailing, and the firm has spread to the third floor. The firm has never received permission for a retail store, and this has been refused by Bolton Council.

50 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, September 27, 1951

THERE have been more cases of lead stealing in Bolton recently than ever before because of the metal shortage and the subsequent high prices that scrap lead is bringing. During the past few weeks, thefts from churches, schools, warehouses and factories have been reported nearly every day.

LIKE bees round a hive, they flocked, or cats round a saucer of milk. Women, children - yes, and even men this time. As many men as women.

They had peered through the windows yesterday. Saw that suit at £3 10s, the silk dressing gown reduced in price from 12 guineas to a mere 59s 6d, and a smart tweed overcoat at four pounds odd..

No wonder they queued, and at nine o'clock, the doors for the sales opened. By 9.30am, all that remained in the windows were the empty stands, and the odd price ticket, no longer tempting the passer-by.

125 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, September 27, 1876

ON Wednesday, the monotony of everyday life of the inhabitants in that quiet and ancient village called Egglescliffe - situate in the county of Durham, on the banks of the River Tees, some three or four miles from the rising and prosperous town of Stockton, within sight of the far-famed Cleveland Hills, and immediately opposite the town of Yarm, which stands on the opposite side of the river, and frequently flooded by its waters - was aroused from its lethargy by the marriage of one of the rector's daughters.

And when we say that the ceremony in this auspicious event was performed by the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Manchester, it will be sufficient to enable our readers that such notable personages in the midst of the populace, together with the nature of the occasion, justified their putting on holiday attire, and appearing to the best possible advantage.

The event, which had been known for some time to the surrounding people, was looked forward to as another grand epoch in the history of Egglescliffe.

Canon Hull, the rector of the village, having been some thirteen or fourteen years in the place, has acquired a wide-spread acquaintance with the numerous families of the district, and the marriage of his second daughter Miss Sarah Winstanley Hull, to the Rev. Canon Powell, Vicar of Bolton, was therefore the leading topic of conversation for some time prior to the performance of the nuptual ceremony.