Where is hexham abbey

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Close Select Town. Welcome to. Explore More. Close Before we can create your perfect experience, we need to find out what you're looking for. Get Started. Historic sites Hexham Abbey. Hexham Abbey. Toilet facilities. Wonderful Old Building. Full of treasures. Covid Remembrance.

Stunning origami display. See all reviews Write a review Traveler photos. Enter your full name. We've 'tagged' this attraction information to help you find related historic attractions and learn more about major time periods mentioned. Medieval Roman Saxon Tudor. Heritage Rated from 1- 5 low-exceptional on historic interest. Northumberland National Park - 0. Corbridge Roman Town - 2. Corbridge, St Andrew's Church - 3. Corbridge Bridge - 3. Planetrees Roman Wall Hadrian's Wall - 3.

Heavenfield, St Oswald's Church - 3. Brunton Turret Hadrian's Wall - 3. Chesters Bridge Abutment Hadrian's Wall - 3. This stone-built wing attached to the owners' home is situated three miles from Hexham and sleeps two people. Sleeps 2. This semi-detached stone-built cottage is located near the market town of Hexham and can sleep four people in two bedrooms.

Sleeps 4. The Anchor is a charming characterful attractive Grade II listed hotel pub and restaurant located on a picturesque riverside location on the banks of the Tyne. The hotel has nine rooms and is ideally located for exploring Northumberland's wonderful countryside. The Anchor is only 5 mins away from Langley Castle double …. Toggle navigation. Best of Britain. Hexham Abbey More Photos.

Wilfrid established a Benedictine abbey at Hexham that became one of the most prosperous abbeys in the north of England. In the 11th century that Benedictine abbey was superseded by an Augustinian priory. The Saxon Crypt Remarkably, the crypt of Wilfrid's Saxon church is still intact, beneath the floor of the nave. Acca's Cross In the south transept stands the fragmentary remains of a beautifully carved Saxon cross shaft. Queen Etheldreda's extremely generous gift was not viewed positively by King Ecgfrith, who appears to have felt that Wilfred exercised too much influence over his wife.

Wilfred was subsequently expelled from Northumbria and spent the next two decades in a series of disputes that were only settled by repeated appeals to the Pope in Rome.

In the meantime, building got under way at Hexham, and by an imposing stone church dominated the surrounding landscape. This is believed to have been some ft long and may have been built by continental masons to a design borrowed from a Roman basilica. According to Wilfrid's contemporary biographer, the church that emerged was a "vast structure supported by columns of various styles and numerous side aisles" and it had "walls of remarkable height and length".

All in all it was believed to be the finest and grandest church then standing north or west of the Alps. Virtually all of the building stone was apparently reused from the remains of the Roman town at Corbridge, some three miles to the east. Almost nothing remains of this first church today, beyond the remarkably well preserved crypt beneath the nave and the Frith stool, a Saxon cathedra or bishop's throne, which could have been in use as far back as Wilfrid's day.

Wilfrid's grand new church was made a cathedral during his time away in Rome, and it seems likely that he returned with one or more relics of St Andrew, to whom the church was dedicated. The cathedral subsequently became a major centre for pilgrimage, with all that implied for the generation of income. By the end of the s, however, Viking raids were being experienced along the coast of Northumbria, and over time they ventured further and further inland.

Hexham ceased to be a cathedral in , and in a major Viking raid resulted in the sacking of the monastery and much of the settlement that had grown up around it.

The monastery ceased to exist, but it is thought that a church of some sort survived on the site to serve the local community, run by a single hereditary priest. In the s the priest of the day, Eilaf, gained the agreement of the Norman Archbishop of York to the rebuilding of the church in Hexham.

Building of a nave, aisled on the north side only, seems to have got under way in the s, and then in Hexham became an Augustinian priory, which led to the addition of a precinct wall. A major building program between and added north and south transepts and a chancel, and greatly expanded the domestic ranges around the cloister to the south. Having suffered from the attention of Viking raiders in the s, Hexham found itself ideally placed to suffer from the attention of Scots during the Wars of Independence from the late s.

In the priory and town of Hexham were attacked by William Wallace and much of it set alight. It is said that traces of the molten lead from the priory roof can still be seen on the floor of the church today. Repairs followed fairly swiftly, and the nave was largely rebuilt in the s thanks to a bequest left by Newcastle merchant Roger Thornton.

Many of the fixtures and fittings found within the church date back to this period, including a series of painted wooden panels. The last major enhancement was the installation of a rood screen to separate the choir from the nave in the early s. The commissioners charged with implementing Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries arrived on the doorstep of Hexham priory in Despite local opposition, dissolution took place in February Hexham still needed a parish church, however, and the priory church was ideal for the purpose.

Parts of it, anyway. The nave had always been out of step in building phases with the other three arms of the church, and while the transepts and choir continued in use, the nave fell into disrepair.