- Location: Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 3NB
- Opening times: Monday – Saturday 10am – 4pm, Sunday 11 – 4
- Entry: Free entry, although donations to maintain the abbey always welcome
- Access: Parking in town
The Brown Sign Bagger is partial to a good church, so when driving westward along the A69 and espying a brown sign for Hexham Abbey, he decided on a detour. It turned out to be a worthwhile punt, as the Abbey most definitely qualifies as ‘a good church’.
The first church on this site was built by Wilfrid, Bishop of York, around 674 CE, upon land granted by Queen Etheldreda, and the Abbey’s Anglo-Saxon crypt is a survivor from this era. It is reputedly the earliest site of Christian worship in the United Kingdom, but some of it is older still, as it was built by recycling the Roman ruins from nearby Corbridge. The walls of the crypt contain parts of friezes from a once important Roman villa, and some inscribed stones. A trip down the crypt’s stairwell is a trip 1,300 years back in time, and beyond. There is no shortage of antiquities back upstairs either: the Falvinus Stone is the 2,000-year-old tombstone of a Roman cavalryman that, the inscription tells us, died ‘aged 25, after seven years’ service’; the Firth Stool was likely made under the direction of Wilfrid in 674; and the elaborately carved Acca’s Cross once marked the grave site of Wilfred’s successor, Acca.
Other highlights include the thirteenth century Night Stair, so called as this is the staircase by which the canons would descend after being summoned by bell to pre-dawn Matins. Visitors can ascend the well-worn staircase to enjoy a view of the north and south transepts. Another treasure is the ‘Dance of Death’ panel painting located to the left of the alter. The four panels depict a sickle-wielding reaper dancing with, in order, a cardinal, a king, an emperor, and a pope, and the meaning of the paintings is clear: human life is brief, and Death doesn’t give two hoots about how rich and powerful you are. These panels predate the widespread use of canvas, and it is a minor miracle that they survived the Reformation that saw most ecclesiastical art consigned to the flames.
Not only did Hexham Abbey escape the ruin that claimed the likes of Rievaulx and Fountains, but it also continued to grow, with significant additions being made in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. And, bringing the abbey right up to date, the stained-glass window above the entrance were installed in the 21st century. Hexham Abbey is a fascinating telling of English Christianity – and history – across the centuries. It also includes an exhibition, a gift shop, and a restaurant.
Destination or Diversion?
Hexham Abbey is a destination in and of itself, but it doesn’t hurt that, if you turn a blind eye to its ugly industrial outskirts, Hexham is a charming and historic market town with other notable buildings such as the Moot Hall and the Old Gaol, and it is perfectly located for exploring Hadrian’s Wall.