Hexham Abbey

Hexham Abbey is a historic church in Hexham, Northumberland, originally founded in the 7th century and serving as a monastic centre in the Anglo-Saxon period. The present building preserves substantial medieval work and stands as the parish church for Hexham town.

Visitors come to view the surviving Saxon-era crypt and the Norman and later medieval nave and tower, which display architectural phases from the 12th and 13th centuries. The interior contains carved stonework and memorials representative of its long ecclesiastical history.

The original foundation dates to the late 7th century under early Northumbrian Christian patronage; the present stone church was rebuilt and expanded in the Norman and later medieval periods and has undergone conservation work since.

The abbey sits in the market town of Hexham, on the River Tyne in northern England, and is easily reached from nearby towns and road links in Northumberland.

• Founding and fabric: Originally founded in the 7th century; the surviving church fabric is largely medieval with significant Norman-period construction.

What to See #

• Saxon crypt: A surviving Saxon crypt beneath the present church dates to the early medieval foundation and contains structural fragments from the original foundation period.
• Norman nave and tower: The Norman nave and medieval tower form the core of the standing church building, with substantial 12th and 13th century fabric visible in the architecture.