#visithexham

At the beginning of our exhibiton, the first thing you will see if a great big hunk of stone with some red lettering on, which at frist glance doesn’t make much sense at all. But with further inspection, you will learn that it’s a rather interesting stone after all!

This is a Roman Altar, used to worship a local Roman god called Maponos, a Celtic god of youth and love who was often linked with Apollo, the Roman god of the sun, light and music. Maponos was worshipped in North Britain and Gaul, and was famed for skills in poetry, music and hunting. The centre of his cult may have been at Lochmaben, Dumfries.

The red lettering translates is Latin, which translates into English as: ‘To Apollo Maponus … Terentius Firmus Senianus the son of … of the Oufentine tribe, prefect of the camp of the sixth legion, styled the victorious, pious and faithful, dedicates this altar’

This stone altar was found at the site of the old church in 1864 when the grounds were being dug up and levelled out for the creation of Beaumont Street. 

Whilst looking through copies of the Abbey Chronicle from the early 1960’s, I came across an intriguing photo and caption:

THE ABBEY SHOP £10,000 SALES

‘The Abbey Shop – with Dorothy and Stella – now a well-known Hexham landmark, where we

have found you can leave parcels, shopping, and babies! – temporarily; scrounge a cup of

coffee, collect articles and tickets for Abbey social functions, find the Gang, get to know where the Rector is – and buy anything from a Christmas Card to an egg-cup.

(By courtesy of J. E. Hedley, Esq.)’

I had to put aside what I was looking for to read the article, as the photo of the Abbey Shop looked completely different from the shop we know and still love today. It soon was apparent from the article that there had been such tremendous help and support from the Abbey family and local community to make the Shop a reality.

In September 1957, the first Shop was opened in premises on Fore Street, kindly lent to the Abbey by the Directors of the Scottish Wool Co. Indeed, the Chairman of the company made table and shop fittings from old wood, and there was such a buzz of activity as the Shop was set up and opened. The volunteers had to put up with freezing weather in the winter but were heartily cheered by masses and masses of mail received with donations to “The Appeal”.

The first items that were sold were Guides of the Abbey and Town, a selection of Christmas Cards, and also Calendars. Despite this limited range, the volunteers made £814 from September 1957 to March 1958. These were happy days and they still are in the Shop we have today.

Then the Shop had to move, as the premises in Fore Street were needed by the owners. Again the Abbey was grateful for the loan of a caravan from a friend, which was situated near where the Shop is today. Although space was tight the shop volunteers managed to extend their lines by introducing Hexham Abbey Tea Towels and Staffordshire Black and White Pottery, which proved  extremely popular with the visitors.

But by early spring of 1959 the Shop was bursting at the seams, and Messrs Lowerys (our Restoration Contractors) purchased and most graciously lent to us the shop you see today. Also in 1959, Miss Dorothy Reid, who was one of the original helpers and was managing the shop, introduced the sales of Coffees and Cold Drinks, which created quite a stir. How she and her helpers managed with the restricted space and water heating difficulties, is hard to say, but the venture greatly increased the money raised for the Appeal. New Abbey souvenir lines were also introduced, and the Committee were careful not to chose items that other Hexham traders carried, so avoiding competition.

Over the six-and-a-half years since the Abbey Shop opened, the volunteers sold merchandise and drinks totalling over £10,000, which contributed in excess of £3,000 to the Appeal Fund. After the many, many hours of service given to the Abbey Shop, the Restoration Committee and all who were interested in the Abbey gave heartfelt thanks to Miss Reid, her band of helpers, and ‘The Gang’, who had always been ready to help.

After reading the article and studying the picture it would be good to know if anyone can remember those early years of the Abbey Shop.

I would dearly love to hear from anyone who can remember the Abbey Shop back in the late 1950s and early 1960s:

           Were you one of Miss Reid’s helpers?

           Can you remember the caravan, or maybe have a photo?

           Did you know Dorothy or Stella?

           Were you one of the babies left ‘temporarily’?

           Who was ‘The Gang’?

           Do you have any China or Tea Towels purchased from the Shop?

           And, most importantly, did you really know where to find the Rector!!!

It would be great to hear from you.

Frances Stride

e are delighted to announce that Hexham Abbey has received a financial boost from the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help fund repairs during the coronavirus pandemic.

A grant of £24,500 has been awarded to allow environmental investigation work and masonry repairs to the Abbey’s Anglo Saxon Crypt. Preserved and largely unchanged in 1,300 years, the Crypt is the only part of a church built on the site by Bishop Wilfrid in 674AD that survives intact.

This funding comes from a part of the Culture Recovery Fund called the Heritage Stimulus Fund and is administered on behalf of the government by Historic England. The grants of up to £25,000 are being allocated to cherished heritage sites across the country to cover urgently needed manintenance and repairs.

As well as rescuing precious heritage buildings in need, the injection of cash will protect livelihoods for some of the most vulnerable heritage specialists and contractors working in the sector.

The Revd David Glover, Rector of Hexham said:

“Our Anglo Saxon crypt would normally be attracting tens of thousands of visitors a year and it is vital that we do all that we can to preserve it. It is the last intact part of the original church built here by Bishop Wilfrid 1,300 years ago, so it’s of immense historical and religious significance.

“Hexham Abbey is of international heritage standing and we are absolutely delighted to receive this grant from Historic England at a time when additional grant funding is also allowing us to proceed with our important Abbey Roof refurbishment. The work here, using the very best in skilled workmanship and the very highest conservation techniques, will help preserve this incredible building for our future generations.”

Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said: “These grants will help the places that have shaped our skylines for hundreds of years and that continue to define culture in our towns and cities. We’re protecting heritage and culture in every corner of the country to save jobs and ensure it's there for future generations to enjoy.”

Duncan Wilson, Historic England Chief Executive said: “Historic places across the country are being supported by the Government’s grants awarded under the Culture Recovery Fund. This funding is a lifeline which is kick-starting essential repairs and maintenance at many of our most precious historic sites, so they can begin to recover from the damaging effects of COVID-19.

In a turbulent start to 2021, we found ourselves entering into January under a thick cloud of uncertainty and a unmistakable feeling of hopelessness. However, my despair at closing the Abbey’s doors to visitors again was lessened - as this time, we were not only closing the doors to combat COVID-19, but to race on at full steam with the repair works on the Abbey’s roof. Once the Abbey’s doors closed on the 4th of January, a team of hi-vis clad merry men descended upon the Abbey through the great west door, scaffolding poles under arms and bright white hard hats atop their heads. Light hearted banter and catchy whistling tunes filled the great Norman arches of the church, and for the first time in a long time, I found myself forgetting about COVID-19. Much like the sigh of relief I felt the Abbey take back in July 2020, when we held our first in-person service since March, the church sighed in relief again, relived in being able to concentrate on the future of the Abbey’s presence through the essential repairs to its roof. The week I spent wrapping, covering and protecting the inside of the Abbey in preparation for the outside works to begin reminded me of why it is that I have the best job in the world. I am blessed to be able to answer questions from visitors all day. I am blessed to have to re-stock visitor guides twice a day. I am blessed to run back and forth from the crypt to allow pilgrims and tourists down. I am blessed to spend a day each week moving furniture, because it means that there is a need for the Church. And there will always be a need for the Church, whether the person is pursuing  knowledge of the past, reassurance for the future, or simply a safe place to seek sanctuary in the present. So, when the roof is repaired and the vaccine’s have truly begun their work, I will be blessed to re-open the wooden doors of this historic, everlasting Church once again to the people it serves.

35 stone steps rise from the south transept of Hexham Abbey, worn by constant use since the 13th century. 

The Night Stair is a vivid reminder of the time when the canons lived, worked and worshipped in the Priory. Before dawn each day, the Priory bell would summon them to Matins, their first service of the day. They would descend from their dormitory, which no longer survives, down the Night Stair, on their way to the service in the Choir.

When the Priory was dissolved in 1537, the canons were pensioned off and the dormitory fell into decay. It was eventually demolished, and the Song School now inhabits the site where it once stood. But the Night Stair at Hexham survived, unlike those at other abbeys such as Fountains, Rievaulx and Finchale. 

It is possible that Wilfrid had this stone seat made when he first founded the monastery here in 674. He had travelled through France on his way to Rome, and it is possible that he took his inspiration for the Frith Stool from examples on the continent, where they were used by bishops presiding over their teams of clergy.

Hexham was a cathedral, at the centre of a diocese, from about 678 to about 821, and this seat may have been the bishop’s 'cathedra', or official seat.