1900 - 1910
1901 - Marconi invented
radio
1901 - A series of child deaths from Diphtheria forced the village school
to close for a period
1902 - The government relieved voluntary
schools of all running expenses. Control passed to Local Authorities
1902 - The Margaret Pit,
situated at the foot of Heddon Bank, and the last deep mine to be worked in
the village, was bought by the Throckley Coal Co and was worked until the early
1930's. After that it's reserves were accessed from the Isabella pit at Throckley
1903 - Wright brothers flew the first power-driven aircraft
1905 - 1932 - The Rev Wm. G. Pringle ran a private school,
at the vicarage, offering a higher education to local children
1907 - The sundial on the cottages at Heddon Square (Frenchman's
Row), was restored.
1907 - Viscount Ridley of Blagdon conveyed the property at east
Heddon to Northumberland County Council to be employed as small holdings
1908 - Old Age Pension was
introduced
1908 - The original entrance porch of the Methodist
Chapel was moved from the south wall and rebuilt on to the west end and
a schoolroom was built on to the south wall
1908 - A forge was set up in the "Swan
Inn"
1910 - 1920
1910 - Mains gas was laid into the
village
1913 - A large fire broke out at Town House Farm destroying
buildings and livestock. It was fought by local people until the fire brigade
from Newburn arrived, having been alerted by a youth on a bicycle
1914 - Outbreak of the "First World
War"
1914 - 18 - Sir James Knott took the tenancy
of 'Merci Beaucoup' cottage, for the use of wives and mothers visiting wounded
soldiers, convalescing at Holyn Hall. Sir James ran a competition to name
the cottage, the winner receiving a prize of £1.00. The winning name
was inscribed on a lintel aboove the door
1915 - Quarries
on the west side of the village were closed
1916 - Sir James Knott sold the
Prince Line
1917 - The first Women's
Institute in Northumberland was founded in Heddon
1918 - The Clayton family sold Bays Leap, Heddon Mill and Town House to
Adam and James Hedley of Newcastle and East Town Farm and several
other pieces of land to Sir James Knott
1920 - Houses erected along the Military road. Two cottages
close to The Three Tun's were erected by Sir James Knott, for the Thompson family,
and were to be the start of a model village. The soil from the excavation of
these two cottages was used to fill in the village pond. These cottages were
later extended to the east to fill in the gap betwen them and teh cottages in
Haddock's Hole
1920's - The introduction of a Bus services removed the need to walk
up and down Heddon Banks to the Railway Station
1921 - Halls of Heddon started in business
1921 - Sir James Knott gifted 13 stained glass windows to St Andrew's
church
1922 - WI Hall built by Mr. Tulip the local village joiner and undertaker
on a piece of land donated by Sir James Knott. It was officially opened by Mrs
Hugh Middleton of Belsay Hall, on 14th October.
1922 - The unveiling ceremony took place for the memorial,
erected in honour of those men from the village, who lost their lives in the
1914-18 war. The memorial was situated on the drained site of the village pond
1923 - Haulage Contracting business (Tulips) was established in the village
1924 - Sir James Knott held an auction
of property that he owned in the village
1924 - The Welfare
Field was purchased by the Miner's Welfare Scheme Association from Sir James
Knott
1924 - The blacksmith's shop, adjoining the Three Tuns Inn, was bought
by the Throckley District Co-op and converted into a shop, which opened on the
5th of October
1925 - The site of the war memorial was enhanced by the creation of the
Memorial Park, funded by
Sir James Knott. It was officially opened on the 11th of November
1926 - The General Strike in support of the miners
failed
1926 - John Logie Baird demonstrated the first television
1926 - The road between Heddon and Throckley was improved including lowering
the section of the road that passes through Gorse(Great) Hill. These works exposed
part of Hadrian's
Wall, some sixty yards of which had to be removed.
1926 - Newcastle Breweries acquired the Three Tuns Inn
1929 - Houses were erected along station road
1929 - Lady Margaret Annie Knott died on board the family yacht (8th
of March)
Circa 1930 - Houses were erected along the Hexham
road
1930 - Library service started in Heddon. A weekly delivery of
books was made to the school
1931 - Brickworks associated with the Margaret Pit closed
1931 - Margaret Coal Pit
closed
1931 - A service station was established in the village,
the site had previously contained a large wooden garage.
1932 - Mains electricity was brought into the village
1932 - Street lights were erected in the village
1933 - The village hearse was dismantled
1934 - The vestry floor in St.
Andrew's church was renewed as a result of dry rot.
1934 - Sir James Knott died
1934 - The Rural District Council, obtained a loan from the Ministry
of Health,which was used to improve the water
supply to the village
1934 - The churchyard extension to the lower church banks was
consecrated
1935 - Blaney Row and Moor Court cottages, which had been a
part of the parish of Heddon, were ceded to the parish of Newburn
1936 - Houses were erected on Heddon Banks
1936 - Electric lighting was installed in St Andrew's church to replace
the existing gas lights
1936 - Knott Memorial
Hall built
1937 - During renovation work, to replace the floor in St.
Andrew's church, part of the old boundary cross was found under the church
floor. it is now preserved on the Norman window sill in the sanctuary
1937 - Lady Elizabeth Knott gifted pews, from Newcastle cathederal,
to St Andrew's church
1937 - The Welfare
Field and the responsibility for it's maintenance was transferred to the
Parish Council
1939 - Outbreak of the "Second World War"
1939 - 1945 - The Knott
Memorial Hall was commandeered by the War Office and used as billets for
troops
1939 - 1945 - The old workshops at Heddon colliery yard were taken
over as an emergency printing works for the Journals and Evening Chronicles
1939 - 1945 - The Men's
Institute served as the headquarters of the ARP service
1939 - The tileworks opened on the site of the Margaret Pit closed
1940 - 1950
1945 - The Methodist
Chapel was licences for marriages
1945 - The Knott
Memorial Hall was requisitioned by Northumberland County Council, and after
fitting out with boilers and ovens was used as a central kitchen for the preparation
of school meals, for schools in the district
1948 - Street House, (location
of Street House) the birthplace of George Stephenson was placed in the care
of the National Trust
1948 - The first village Flower Show was held in Crag Field on the
28th of August
1949 - The village Show was moved to the first Saturday in September
and a gymkhana was added
1950 - 1960
1950 - 57 - The village show included a sheepdog trial
1952 - The Church gave up it's financial responsibility for Heddon
School which then became a "controlled" school
1953 - Drainage scheme installed in the village by Messrs Bailey &
Co of South Shields
1953 - The Hearse House was handed to the vicar by the Hearse House
Committe
1954 - The Men's Institute
closed
1954 - Work commenced on constructing the 54 houses on the council
estate
1954 - The Knott Memorial
Hall was returned for the use of village activities
1956 - Suez Crisis
1956 - The present Garage and Filling station was established in the
village
1957 - National Coal Board bought Bays Leap Farm, Town House and Heddon
Mill to commence open cast mining. 70 acres of land was excavated to a depth
of 200 feet to extract 2.5 million tons of
coal.(site
before mining)
1957 - Ownership of the Men's
Institute was transferred to the Parish Council and after some refurbishment
was opened as the village library
1957 - The marquee and exhibits for the village show was destroyed
by gale force winds
1957 - It was decided that rather then build a new vicarage in the
grounds of the existing property, the existing building should be renovated,
with the exception of the west wing that sealed off and subsequently sold
1957 - Work started on building the George Bainbridge housing estate
to the west of the village
1958 - Heddon Railway
Station was closed on the 15th of September
1959 - Library moved to a room in the Knott
Memorial Hall
1959 - The first burial in the extended lower churchyard area took
place
1959 - Heddon Railway
Station was demolished in October
1959 - A parcel of land was given over to the Ministry of Works for the
preservation of the Roman
Wall, as an ancient monument. Another parcel of land was sold by James Hedley
for the construction of the Vallum Housing Estate
1960 - A public convenience was erected in the Memorial
Park
1960 - A new organ was installed in the Methodist Chapel
1960 - The Vallum housing estate, to the east
of the village, was built by Craigie & Son
1960 - The three cottages adjoining the Three
Tuns Inn, known as Haddock's Hole, were demolished (Haddock's Hole was derived
from Haddock Hall, the original name for the Three Tuns and the adjoining cottages)
1960 - The original cottages known as Frenchman's
Row were demolished and rebuilt in two sections
1962 - Library moved to a room in the Men's
Institute
1962 - Taberna Close shopping
centre opened
1962 - Detached store built, next to the shopping centre, to house Throckley
District Co-operative Society. Opened December 1924
1962 - A new village school
was built
1964 - The first edition of the Vision magazine was published in September
(Copies of the Vision, from this date upto 1989, are available in the local
section of Newcastle City library)
1965 - On completion of the Open cast mining Bays Leap farm was sold
by the Coal Board to Mr. John Moffitt
1971 - A69 Bypass of Heddon was built
1971 - Blacksmith shop moved to new premises and the original
smithy is taken over by the Swan Inn and converted to a dining room
1974 - Heddon Library
was built
1974 - Perfume factory established in the village
1975 - Newcastle to Carlisle trunk road is opened, bypassing the village
1975 - Killiebrigs housing estate was built by Barratts
1978 - Perfume factory moved into premises beside shopping centre originally
occupied by the Throckley District Co-operative Society
1989 - The Peace garden was created behind the Methodist Chapel
1991 - The Knott
Memorial Hall was purchased by the Parish Council for a nominal sum
1993 - Gift Shop opened adjacent to the site of Hadrian's
Wall
1996 - Heddon village was runner up in the Northumbria
in Bloom competition