THIS article is brought to you courtesy of the Duke Street Dental Practice in Darlington, which has been trying to contain the pain of an egg sized abscess which has blown up beneath a tooth, writes Chris Lloyd.

Such was the discomfort that I was sorely tempted to visit Iley’s Cheap Supply Stores in Main Street in Shildon.

As this 1891 advertising poster says, Iley's was the place to go “for all you need in drugs, chemicals, provisions and groceries. Physicians’ prescriptions accurately dispensed. Teeth carefully extracted.”

This poster is one of those that were found in a filthy state in the roof space of Dodds' former picture framing workshop in Tubwell Row, Darlington.

We've been using the lockdown to clean them up, and we're slowly posting the results on our new Facebook group - North East Memories.

The picture on the calendar is called “Rebekah at the Well”. Everyone in Shildon 100 years ago would have known the Biblical story of how Abraham sent his servant out to find a suitable wife for his only son, Isaac.

The servant stopped at a well and devised a question to test the suitability of the young women who were collecting water for their families. He asked them if he might have a drink from their jars, and when Rebekah replied: "Yes, and let me draw some water for your camels, too," he knew he had found a suitable bride.

If you have any information about Iley's Cheap Supply Stores, we'd love to hear from you: where was it in Main Street, who were the Ileys? Please email chris.lloyd@nne.co.uk