Hexham Abbey, Hexham

The St Wilfrid’s Way starts here and ends 150 miles later in Edinburgh, while the 23-mile Hadrian’s Wall Pilgrims’ Way also calls in on Hexham near its end‍

Highlights

• ‍‍Relic crypt built by St Wilfrid
• Seat of eight saintly bishops
• Saxon and medieval artworks

St Wilfrid was keen on building crypts. The mystery of the corridors and the hidden chambers imparted a sense of holy wonder to pilgrims. The saint liked making an impression through design, art, and fine craftsmanship.

St Wilfrid was a 7th-century missionary and one of the country’s most influential bishops. He founded a monastery at Hexham around 674, and the church’s crypt remains pretty much as originally built. Stairs lead down from the nave into this small and intimate chamber, which once housed the relics of many of Hexham’s saints. It also displayed relics brought from Rome during St Wilfrid’s trips to the continent, including presumably an item connected to St Andrew, who is the church’s patron saint.St Wilfrid returned to Hexham towards the end of his life, in 705. His monastery had been turned into a bishopric during his absence, and he served as bishop himself from 707 until his death in 709. A side chapel with an icon of the saint was dedicated in 1996, in the northeast corner of the chancel.

One rare survivor from Hexham’s earliest days is the cathedra, or bishop’s throne, carved from a single block of stone that is now situated in the middle of the choir. St Wilfrid himself might have sat in it. The chair later became a ‘frith stool,’ a place where a criminal could find sanctuary under the Saxon rule of law. England’s only other surviving example is at Beverley Minster.

St Wilfrid served as bishop and abbot in a number of places, including Ripon where his crypt also survives, under a soaring cathedral building (page 428). Hexham’s crypt is similar to the one at Ripon, but feels more in keeping with the ancient and solid building above it, a complete experience of early medieval worship.

Much of the crypt fabric was recycled from a Roman bridge at Corbridge, 3 miles away. It was eventually used as a single shrine for all the relics at Hexham, including those of the bishop saints who were buried here (listed overleaf). The relic collection was scattered during a Scottish raid in 1296.

Hexham’s church itself dates mainly from the Norman period, but there are a few other Saxon and monastic features that magnify the devout atmosphere. A broad night staircase runs down on the left as you enter the church, its worn steps recording the footfall of numerous monks, who would descend every night of the year for services. A Roman military tombstone at the foot of the stair dates from the end of the first century, a fully armed soldier riding down a naked Celtic warrior in a triumphant depiction of Roman dominance over tribal Britain.

The church has an intact medieval screen, a rare survivor since so many were torn down at the Reformation. It was practically new when the monastery was dissolved, which perhaps stayed the reformers’ hands. There are other paintings in the church, including a series of wood panels on the north side of the chancel. They show some of Hexham’s saints, a narrative of Christ’s passion, and a rare ‘Dance of Death’ sequence, in which a skeleton performs a pirouette. The message is: don’t forget you are mortal.

A total of eight bishops of Hexham became saints, though some are more famous than others. St Eata was probably the first full-time saintly bishop, from 685 to 686. He was certainly the first native Northumbrian to serve in high office in the region, with his seat at either Hexham or Lindisfarne. The bishopric was formally merged with Lindisfarne in 821, and the two were very closely related before then, sometimes swapping bishops.

St Acca was another saintly bishop of Hexham, who lived in the 8th century. He was buried at Hexham in 740 and a tall cross erected at the head of his grave. St Acca’s Cross is therefore a relic of his original shrine and is displayed in the south transept, on the right as you enter the church. His saint’s day is 20 October. The smaller cross displayed next to his was found elsewhere in the town.

This enthusiasm for subterranean worship stems from Wilfrid’s time in Rome, where he was impressed by the design of relic crypts. Some say that crypts were ultimately designed to emulate Christ’s own experience in the tomb, enclosed in the earth for a time of renewal. The Catacombs of Rome must surely be an influence too.‍

Saints of Hexham‍

The land at Hexham was donated to St Wilfrid by St Etheldreda, who was queen of Northumbria. The church has a side chapel in her memory opposite the night stairs. She went on to found Ely’s monastery (page 119).

From 678 to 685 Hexham and Lindisfarne were closely linked, though the diocese was separated into two. St Cuthbert was consecrated as Hexham’s bishop in 684 but then immediately moved to Lindisfarne. After that, the following saints served here as bishop, with date of death in brackets followed by the period of their reign:

• St Eata (686) 685–686, buried at Hexham
• St John of Beverley (721) 687–705
• St Wilfrid (709) 707–709St Acca (732) 710–732, buried at Hexham
• St Frithebert (766) 734–766, buried at Hexham
• St Alcmund (780) 767–780, buried at Hexham
• St Tilbert (789) 781–789, buried at Hexham

Directions

Hexham Abbey/Parish Church of St Andrew, Beaumont Street, Hexham NE46 3NB

Hexham Abbey

W3W: clap.incensed.hobble

GPS: 54.9712N 2.1026W

Hexham railway station 600m

The abbey church is in the centre of town. It is open daily along with the gift shop and cafe. The crypt is also open daily when services and events allow; a verger will help with access.