Hexham Abbey is one of the earliest seats of Christianity in England. Since its beginning, it has witnessed periods of immense turmoil and change, across the region and within the English Church itself. Many of these are reflected in the very fabric of the building we see today.

The first St. Mary’s Church was built by St. Wilfred over twelve hundred years ago. In the 13th Century a new church took its place. This new St. Mary’s fell into disuse when the Abbey became the accepted church of Hexham.

The people of Hexham had long been used to walking through the church on their way to and from the Market Place and St. Mary’s Chare. When shops and houses were built on the site of the church ruins, this traditional walkway was kept and is still called Old Church.*

*information from a signboard near to the church remains

This Gatehouse guarded the Hall of the Archbishops of York. They were Lords of the Manor of Hexham for nearly five hundred years until 1545.

These were troubled times on the Scottish Borders. This late mediaeval tower was heavily fortified with three sets of doors, overhanging parapets and murder holes. In the first-floor courtroom the Archbishop’s Bailiff administered justice. From the raised dais he heard pleas, settled disputes, delivered judgments and consulted with tenants.

In later centuries the gatehouse became the setting for the Quarter Sessions of county magistrates and for meetings of the town’s Borough Courts.

Since then it has been known as the Moot Hall.*

*Information taken from a signboard located on The Moot Hall

“In June 1330 the Archbishop of York, Lord of the Manor of Hexham, ordered the building of a prison in Hexham. Many of the stones came from the Roman ruins at Corbridge. Two years later it was furnished and equipped with chains and manacles. A barber, John of Carwood, was the first gaoler.

Prisoners were kept in two underground dungeons. Those awaiting trial by the Bailiff’s Court were held in upper rooms. These were reached by a spiral staricase lit by tiny windows.

In 1824 the building ceased to be used as a prison. Later a new central staircase was built and the room layout was altered for the use of the Stewards of the secular Lords of the Manor. The building became know as the Manor Office.”*

*Information from a signboard outside the gaol

After breakfast we checked out of the Vermont and, in a last minute change of plan, visited Hexham on the way to our new destination, Durham. First port of call was Hexham Gaol which is built with stone from the nearby Roman Corbridge site and bills itself as the earliest purpose-built prison in England.

Afterwards we walked around the town calling in at a couple of book shops where Mr C hoped to find a book on the Battle of Hexham, before having lunch in the Refectory Cafe at Hexham Abbey. We both chose a toasted cheese scone with chutney which was delicious, although messy due to melting butter.

After lunch we visited the Abbey which currently has an installation called ‘Angel Wings’ that was inspired by the 2020 ‘Wing and a Prayer’ installation at Ripon Cathedral. The Angels are displayed at a height of 45 ft in the chancel and in other places around the building. They are personal dedications and commemorations from people who were affected by the 2020/21 pandemic.

As we left Hexham, we noticed that the road was being cordoned off and there was a police presence. We soon realised that this was due to a stage of the Tour of Britain cycle race passing by that afternoon. A bit further down the road we were redirected by a police motorcyclist as our planned route had also been temporarily blocked. We realsised this was a ‘not to be missed’ opportunity so did a U-turn and parked at the side of the road near to where the cyclists would pass and waited for them to arrive.  When the last of the cyclists had gone by we continued our journey following the race until eventually it peeled off in a different direction.

This explained a lovely bicycle display that I had admired whilst walking around Hexham.

Once at Durham we checked in where there was a bit of a saga with authorising the credit card. When this had been resolved we were directed to a lovely room on the ground floor, named The Wenlock Suite. We were also informed that the room would be serviced every three days and that if we needed tea or coffee to ask at reception. We were rather dismayed to find only paper cups!

We unpacked our bags and chilled out for a while before visiting the hotel bar for a pre dinner drink. They had run out of our first choice of beverage so we had to go for plan B. Dinner was in a restaurant called The Cellar Door. We managed to walk down the wrong set of very steep outdoor steps only to be redirected to the correct entry to the restaurant, a small doorway where we were led down just as many steps into the cellar. I chose chicken supreme which was delicious.

After dinner we had a stroll around the square to the sounds of a busker singing ‘I only have eyes for you’.   Someone in the square decided to join in with him which rather drowned out his lovely singing voice.

We returned to the hotel for a nightcap and were told by the bar staff that the bar was closing in 10 minutes. It was 10.20 and the bar shouldn’t close until 11pm. We made our order and 15 minutes later we were told it was last orders if we would like anything else to which we said no thankyou.

A little while later, just before 11pm another couple arrived and sat down at the bar and ordered drinks only to be told the bar had shut. The produced an exclamation of ‘Really’ to which the reply was ‘well we are in 2.5 minutes time’. They were promptly served causing another larger group of people to purchase another round of drinks. Shortly after this the bar tender tried to take Mr C’s glass away before he had finished his drink!

Unfortunately the duty manager that we had chatted to on the first night of our stay was not on shift so we were unable to say goodbye or thank her. We checked out after breakfast and headed to Corbridge Roman Town.

During our journey, just after we had left Jedburgh, we turned a corner to be confronted by a large bull standing sideways on our side of the carriageway. We slowed down and gently drove around him. He was slobbering at the mouth and looking at us disdainfully as we did so. As we passed by we noticed another bull on the road, looking very much as if he had escaped from a field. Behind him, in the field, were a large number of cows congregating in the corner of the field near to the bull.

We thought that bulls in the road were an accident waiting to happen so we parked in a safe place and phoned the police to report the problem.

Corbridge Town is part of Hadrian’s Wall. Next to the town’s Roman remains is an excellent museum displaying Roman artifacts, the Corbridge Hoard and a fine stone statue of a lion atop its prey.

When we had finished looking around, we drove to Hexham, which is close by, for lunch. We had a brief look around Hexham before continuing our journey. Our route took us through beautiful scenery with spectacular views. At one point there was a diversion which led to the journey taking longer than expected necessitating a brief stop at Killington Lake services to stretch our legs and enjoy a reviving cup of tea.

When Jesus had led them out as far as Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He left them and was carried up into heaven.

Luke 24: 50,51

This Gatehouse guarded the Hall of the Archbishops of York. The were Lords of the Manor of Hexham for nearly 500 years until 1545. These were troubled times on the Scottish borders. This late mediaeval  tower was heavily fortified with three sets of doors, overhanging parapets and murder holes. In the first-floor courtroom the Archbishop’s Bailiff administered justice. From the raised dais he heard pleas, settled disputes, delivered judgements and consulted with tenants.

In later centuries the gatehouse became the setting for the Quarter Sessions of county magistrates and for meetings of the town’s Borough Courts. Since then it has been know as the Moot Hall.*

This drawing shows the possible appearance of the Archbishop’s Hall in about 1450. The two larger buildings, the Moot Hall on the left and the Old Gaol on the right, still remain.*

*From a signboard next to the Moot Hall.

The church of Hexham Abbey as we see it today was built over the ruins of Wilfrid’s church in the 12th century. It was part of a priory surrounded by a high stone wall. People gathered outside the stone wall to their goods and local produce. Markets have been held in the place ever since.

The gatehouse (in the centre of the photo) was built about 1400 to guard the Bailiff’s Hall. The bailiff governed the whole of Hexhamshire for the Archbishop of York. The gatehouse is know today as the Moothall. There were buildings crowded all around it until 1950.

All that remains of the lavatorium in the west walk of the cloister are these decorative arches. The monks would have washed their hands here before entering the refectory to eat.