A former editor of the Northern Echo shared his memories of the “palace” which had been the paper’s home for 106 years as it finally left the building on Friday.

As previously reported on HTFP, the Newsquest title is leaving its historic headquarters at Priestgate, Darlington, for a new home at Coniscliffe House.

The building is being refurbished after being sold to Darlington Borough Council, although Echo bosses have said they hope to return there one day as tenants.

The move prompted Peter Barron, who edited the Echo for 17 years between 1999 and 2016, to share his memories of the building on Facebook.

Wrote Peter:  “A sad day…after today, the iconic old building we affectionately called Priestgate Palace will no longer be the home of The Northern Echo.

“I vividly remember my first day, as a newly qualified reporter in 1984, wondering if I’d be good enough to cut it on such a famous title, dating back to 1870.

“I was met in reception that day by the late Jill Neil, secretary to News Editor, Mike Amos. Nervous as hell, I got off to a terrible start. A run of confidence-shredding mistakes in my first few months was followed by an unsettling stint on the picket-line when the union called a strike.

“But life at the Echo slowly got better and, apart from a brief interlude as editor of the Hartlepool Mail, I’m delighted that I stayed at Priestgate for the next 32 years, spending more time there than I spent at home.

“I’ll remember the momentous changes; the introduction of colour pages that caused havoc for a while; and the arrival of computers that brought an end to the clackety-clack of a battery of typewriters.

“You’re not going to get much done unless you switch the bloody things on,” barked the editor, Allan Prosser, as he walked past the news desk team looking nervously at their gleaming, white Amstrads.

“The dawn of the internet presented mind-boggling, wildly exciting opportunities – helping us reach more readers than ever before – while at the same time exploding our age-old business model into a million fragments that can never be put back together.

“In 2007, the switch from broadsheet to tabloid inspired passionate views on both sides, not least a letter from a reader in Whitby, which kindly began: “Dear Mr Barron, you are a vandal and a c***”. There was also a woman in Spennymoor who actually came into reception to complain that the paper no longer fitted her cat-litter tray.

“All of this, and so much more, happened inside that cavernous old building, which was also home to a proud collection of sister titles, including the Darlington and Stockton Times, the Despatch, and the Advertiser Series.

“I’ve resisted the temptation to go in for one last look because I’d rather remember it in the days when it buzzed with an army of people. The world has moved on, and it makes sense for The Northern Echo to move on too.

“The good news – the very important news – is that it will continue to have a base in Darlington town centre, and still has talented, hard-working, and dedicated people grappling with the economic challenges of the digital age.

“There is even talk that the Echo might yet return to a part of Priestgate Palace once the building has been renovated. I, for one, really hope so. But, for now, thanks for the memories – and here’s to the future.”