HEXHAM

:: ''See also Hexham, New South Wales, and Hexham (constituency).''
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'Hexham' is a small market town in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne. Hexham is the administrative centre for the Tynedale district, although in terms of population, Prudhoe is now Tynedale's largest town. In 2001 Hexham had a population of 11,139.
There are many smaller towns and villages that surround Hexham, such as Corbridge, Riding Mill, Stocksfield, Wylam to the east, Acomb and Bellingham to the north, Allendale to the south and Haydon Bridge, Bardon Mill and Haltwhistle to the west. The closest major city to Hexham is Newcastle upon Tyne and is approximately 25 miles (40 km) to the east.
Hexham is one of the 3 major towns in Tynedale along with Prudhoe and Haltwhistle.

Contents

History

Governance

Local media

Transportation

Awards

Industry

Twin towns

List of people from Hexham

See also

External links

History

Hexham originated as a monastery founded by Saint Wilfrid in 674. The crypt of the original monastery survives, and incorporates many stones taken from nearby Roman ruins - probably Coria or Hadrian's Wall. The current Hexham Abbey dates largely from the 11th century onward, but was significantly rebuilt in the 19th century. Other notable buildings in the town include the Moot Hall, the covered market, and the Old Gaol.
The name of Hexham came from Anglo-Saxon ''Hagustaldeshām'' = "Hagustald's home" or "the hedge-warden's home", although it is often incorrectly regarded to mean "land or settlement of witches".
Like many towns in the North of England, Hexham suffered from the border wars with the Scots, including attacks from William Wallace who burnt the town in 1297. In 1312, Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, demanded and received £2000 from the town and monastery in order for them to be spared a similar fate.
In 1464, Battle of Hexham was fought somewhere to the south of the town in The Wars of the Roses. The defeated Lancastrian commander Duke of Somerset was executed in Hexham market place.
In 1715 James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater, raised the standard for James Francis Edward Stuart in Hexham Market place. The rising, however, was unsuccessful, and Derwentwater was captured and beheaded after the battle of Preston.
In 1761, the Hexham Riot took place in the Market Place when a crowd protesting about changes in the criteria for serving in the milita was fired upon by troops from North Yorkshire Militia. 51 protesters were killed, earning the Milita the soubriquet of The Hexham Butchers.
Until 1572, Hexham was the administrative centre of the former Liberty or Peculiar of Hexhamshire.
Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Hexham was a centre of the leather trade, particularly renowned for making gloves known as Hexham Tans - now the name of a vegetarian restaurant in the town.

Governance

Hexham is part of the parliamentary constituency of Hexham. The current MP is the Conservative Peter Atkinson.

Local media

The local newspaper serving Hexham and Tynedale since 1864 is called the Hexham Courant. It was first launched by J. Catherall, and at that time espoused the Liberal cause. It later absorbed the Conservative-supporting Hexham Herald. In 1977, CN Group had taken over the business and has since continued to grow.
Hexham has a town webportal called HexhamNet. It is owned by the Hexham Community Partnership but continues to be managed by the Hexham Courant. It was first launched in October 2003 and continues to serve both the local community as well as visiting tourists to the Tynedale area.
The webportal can be visited on: [1]

Transportation

The town is served by Hexham railway station on the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway. As well as this, Hexham is bypassed by the A69 road, linking it to Newcastle and Carlisle The 685 and 602 bus routes link the town to Tyneside and Carlisle.

Awards

Hexham won the Town award in the 2005 Britain in Bloom awards. In the same year Hexham was also named
★ 'England's Favourite Market Town' by the magazine ''Country Life''.

Industry

In Hexham the Subskimmer was first designed and made, by Submarine Products Ltd. The town is also the site of a major chipboard factory owned by Egger(UK) Ltd.

Twin towns

★ - Metzingen – Germany ★ - Noyon – France

List of people from Hexham

★ Conrad Dickinson - Polar explorer

★ Pete Doherty formerly of ,The Libertines, currently of Babyshambles, was born in Hexham

★ Andy Duncan captain of Cambridge United F.C.

★ Mark Elder - Conductor

★ Gabriel Fielding - Novelist

★ Wilfrid Gibson - Poet

★ James Clegg - Internet Celebrity

★ Daniel Ainsleigh - Actor

★ Robson Green - Actor

★ William Hewson - Surgeon and anatomist

★ James Hope - Famous Optical Scientist and Optician

★ John of Hexham - Chronicler

★ Joseph Parker (1830–1902) - Congregationalist preacher and writer

★ Richard of Hexham - Chronicler

★ Joseph Richardson - 'Well-natured Richardson', writer and MP

★ John Weightman - Literary Critic

★ Martyn Wood - Footballer

★ Ann Cook - Innkeeper and author of Professed cookery.

★ Hannah Glasse - Author of The art of cookery.

★ Fraser Forster - Newcastle United goalkeeper

See also

★ Battle of Hexham

★ Hexham (constituency)

★ Ailred of Rievaulx

★ Acca of Hexham

★ Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle

★ Eata of Hexham

★ Richard of Hexham

★ Hexham railway station

★ Hexham Old Gaol

★ John of Hexham

★ Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle

★ Devil's Water

★ Battle of Heavenfield

★ Battle of Neville's Cross

External links

★ Hexham Abbey

★ HexhamNet

★ Hexham Courant the local newspaper

★ Tynedale District Council Website

★ Hexham International Combined Events (Decathlon) Meeting Since 1997

★ Tynedale Harriers & Athletics Club

★ Northumberland County Council Website

★ Queen Elizabeth High School

★ Queen Elizabeth High School Rowing Club

★ Hexham Rowing Club

★ Tynedale Hockey club

★ Hexham Trinity Methodist Church Website

★ Hexham and District Photographic Society

★ Hexham Tyne Bridge Webcam

★ Hexham Photos ~ Northumberland Cam

★ Queens Hall Arts Centre

★ Hexham Local History Society