Хексем: История и архитектура английского города

Town and civil parish in Northumberland, England

Hexham ('/h//ɛ//k//s//əm/ HEKSəm) is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. In 2011, it had a population of 13,097. Smaller towns and villages around Hexham include Corbridge, Riding Mill, Stocksfield and Wylam to the east, Acomb and Bellingham to the north, Allendale to the south and Haydon Bridge, Bardon Mill and Haltwhistle to the west. Newcastle upon Tyne is 25 mile (40 km) to the east and Carlisle 37 mile (60 km) to the west.

The name Hexham derives from the Old English Hagustaldes ea and later Hagustaldes ham from which the modern form (with the " ham" element) derives. Hagustald is related to the Old High German hagustalt, denoting a younger son who takes land outside the settlement; the element ea means "stream" or "river" and ham is the Old English form of the Modern English "home" (and the Scots and Northern English "hame").

In 1761, the Hexham Riot took place in the Market Place when a crowd protesting about changes in the criteria for serving in the militia were fired upon by troops from the North Yorkshire Militia. Some 45 protesters were killed, earning the Militia the sobriquet of The Hexham Butchers.

Hexham's architectural landscape is dominated by Hexham Abbey. The current church largely dates from c. 1170–1250, in the Early English Gothic style of architecture. The choir, north and south transepts and the cloisters, where canons studied and meditated, date from this period. The abbey stands at the west end of the market place, which is home to the Shambles, a covered market built by Sir Walter Blackett in 1766; it is a Grade II* listed building. At the east end of the market place stands the Moot Hall, originally commissioned as a gatehouse that was part of the defences of the town. The Moot Hall, which is considered one of the best examples of a medieval courthouse in the north of England, is a Grade I listed building. The Old Gaol, behind the Moot Hall on Hallgates, was one of the first purpose built jails in England. It was built between 1330 and 1333 and is a Grade I listed building. The Leazes on Shaws Lane is a Grade II listed mansion built in 1853 by John Dobson for William Kinsopp. Hexham Library and the Queen's Hall Art Centre can both be found in the Queen's Hall, completed in 1866. The building contains the Brough Local Studies Collection which is the second largest local history collection in the county. Dare Wilson Barracks, the home of X Company, 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was completed in 1891.

Hexham is in the parliamentary constituency of Hexham. Guy Opperman has been the Conservative member of parliament for Hexham since May 2010. In 2023 Joe Morris was selected to stand as the Labour Party candidate at the next General Election. The town comes under Northumberland County Council and contains three wards: Hexham Central with Acomb, Hexham East and Hexham West.

The Hexham Courant is the local newspaper, serving Hexham and Tynedale since 1864. It was first launched by J. Catherall & Co., and at that time espoused the Liberal cause. It later absorbed the Conservative supporting Hexham Herald. In 1977, CN Group acquired the newspaper. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Tyne Tees. Hexham's local radio stations are BBC Radio Newcastle on 103.7 FM, Capital North East on 105.8 FM, Heart North East on 96.4 FM, Smooth North East on 101.2 FM and Hits Radio North East on 103.2 FM. Horse racing from the town's course on Yarridge Heights is regularly featured on telecasts by Racing UK and other selected broadcasters. Regular sound broadcasts of cricket commentary for Tynedale CC can be heard via the internet during summer on Spreaker Internet Radio.

Hexham is served by state first, middle and high schools and uses the three tier system as does the rest of Northumberland. Queen Elizabeth High School, partly located in a former hydropathic hotel, is the town's major educational centre. The nearest private school is Mowden Hall School, a prep school located 10 mile (16 km) away in Stocksfield.

The nearest airport to Hexham is Newcastle International Airport, which is located around 20 mile (32 km) away by road. Carlisle Lake District Airport and Teesside International Airport are located around away by road, respectively.

The town is served by Hexham, a station on the Tyne Valley Line. It is situated on part of the original Newcastle and Carlisle Railway route, dating back to 1837, and links the city of Newcastle upon Tyne with Carlisle. The line follows the course of the River Tyne through Northumberland. Services on the Tyne Valley Line are currently operated by Northern Trains. As of the December 2019 timetable change, the station is served by a twice hourly service heading west towards Carlisle, and three trains per hour heading east towards Newcastle.

Hexham is served by the A69 road, which runs for 54 mile (87 km) from Carlisle to Newcastle upon Tyne. This road serves as an alternative to the original route, the A695, which runs from Hexham to Newcastle upon Tyne, serving Corbridge, Stocksfield, Prudhoe and Blaydon.

Hexham won the town award in the 2005 Britain in Bloom awards. In the same year, it was also named England's Favourite Market Town by the magazine Country Life. Hexham was voted the happiest place to live in Britain, 2019 and 2021.

The major employer in Hexham is Egger (UK) Limited. Hexham had been long famous for its manufacture of leather. Wright (1823) gives some statistics77 men & boys employed as Leather dressers and Glove cutters, 40 boys employed as Dusters and 1,111 women employed as Sewers. Skins dressed annually were 80,000, and 18,000 skins of dressed leather were imported. From these were made and exported annually 23,504 dozens of pairs of gloves. Dutch Oker was used in the processing, but local fell clay could be used if necessary. Tanning was a necessary allied industry and there were four tanneries, employing a score of men. In a year they dealt with 5,000 hides and 12,000 calf skins. They supplied local saddlers, bootmakers and cobblers. Hexham also had 16 master hatters, and the trade employed 40 persons. There were two woollen manufactories, worked by steam power, and two rope manufactories. There were corn water mills below the bridge. A windmill on the Sele was ruinous, but there was one still working on Tyne Green. It was, and still is a flourishing market, including a mart for cattle and other farm animals. In Hexham the Subskimmer was designed and made by Submarine Products. The town is also the site of a chipboard factory owned by the Austrian firm Egger Retail Products GmbH, which vents steam which can be seen from miles away. Botanical brewery Fentimans is based in Hexham.

Hexham has many shops commonly found in other English market towns, with five central supermarkets (Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose), multiple clothes shops, charity shops, banks, estate agents, antique shops and chemists. Cafes and coffee shops are also common in Hexham, from commercial chains (Costa) to family run independents.