Hexham is a the largest town in West Northumberland - 20 miles west of Newcastle standing on the south bank of the River Tyne. The A69(T) road between Newcastle to Carlisle used to run the the heart of the town - but now follows a bypass along the north side of the river.
There has been a settlement there since Saxon times and there are many ancient spellings of the town's name including Hutoldesham, Hestoldesham, Hextoldesham and Halgutstad.
One interpretation is that the names refer to the tributaries to the Tyne which run through the town.Until 1571, Hexham was head of an ancient shire which was a regality, county palatinate and diocese. In this year, by Act of Parliament the shire was incorporated into the County of Northumberland and became an ecclesiastical peculiar of the Diocese of York. The term Hexhamshire is still used to refer to the area comprising the parishes of Hexham, Allendale and St John Lee.
Hexham Abbey
Founded by St Wilfrid in the 7th century, this splendidly imposing building has survived being burnt by the Vikings although it was refounded in 1113 as an Augustinian priory.
In 1903 the nave was rebuilt by Temple Moore which is in contrast to the east end of the church which is early Gothic.
The Abbey contains a host of fascinating relics and artifacts including one of the best-preserved examples of mediaeval art in England.
A Dance of Death.
Hexham Moothall
The
Gatehouse Tower to the buildings of the Bailiff's Hall was built about
1400, when Scots armies were a constant threat.
Here
the Archbishop of York's Bailiff held court, with the leading men of Hexhamshire
in attendance.
The different floors were used for many things:-
The ground floor was used for storing food and weapons and as a guard room
The first floor was the courtroom. Prisoners from the Gaol were brought here to be tried and if found guilty sentenced to punishments such as fines, whippings, time in the stocks or pillory, banishment, or even death.
The second floor is where the Archbishop’s Bailiff would have lived. He held feasts here for rich, powerful people. In one corner is a ‘buffet’, a shelf where the Bailiff would have put expensive cups and plates on display to show how wealthy the Archbishop of York was.
In the late 18th and 19th Centuries this floor was used as the ‘Langstairs Prison’ for debtors.There are two turrets, one overlooking the Market Place and one looking towards the Gaol. There are also remains which suggest there would have been a wooden platform overlooking the steep road, Hallstile Bank. This was probably used to protect the building and town from any troublemakers coming up the hill.The roof was used to keep watch for troublemakers – both Reivers and Scots..
Later, the Borough Court and the County Magistrates met in the 'moothall', and it became for a time the town hall for Hexham.
Today the ground floor is now used as an Art Gallery by local artists. In the 19th Century it was used as a lock up for local troublemakers.
Hexham Gaol
The Archbishop of York, Lord of the Manor of Hexham wrote in 1330:
"We order you to build a good strong gaol at Hexham in which our prisoners are to be kept, secure and well guarded; and supply it with irons, manacles, and everything necessary for safe custody, and appoint John of Cawood, the barber, as gaoler and pay him twopence a day"
This is the earliest documented prison in Britain still used, though it no longer holds prisoners.
Hexham Gaol held prisoners captured in Hexhamshire, the area ruled over by the Archbishop of York. His Bailiff and other officials ran the Shire on his behalf from the nearby Moothall.
By the 16th Century, the gaol was being used to house prisoners accused of committing crimes within the Border Marches.
It was often used to hold hostages, known as pledges, who were held until fines were paid or accused people turned up to take their place.
The building was not always that secure, and the men working there were happy to be bribed to turn a blind eye to rescues. In 1538 there was one of several recorded gaolbreaks.
The gaol continued in use until the 1820s, when a new county gaol was buit at Morpeth.
By 1828 most prisoners were held in Morpeth Gaol, and the Hexham House of Correction was in use for petty thieves.
The building was taken over and used variously as a bank, solicitors' office, home for the Rifle Volunteers, a Billiards Club, and a place from which to firewatch in the Second World War.
By the mid-1970s the building was in a bad state. Major repairs were undertaken, and the building reopened in 1980 as a tourist information centre and now houses the Border History Museum, telling the story of The Border Reivers.
