Hexham Abbey and Bell Tower Tour
Report by Kathleen Pears
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The Abbey was looking splendid in the warm sunshine, and our welcome echoed this. The Rector, Graham Usher, in his introductory remarks, gave us an outline of the building then and now, impressing us, as usual in the case of great churches, with its chequered past and the great plans for the future, to restore the ancient monastic buildings around the Abbey and turn them into an “iconic welcoming place”. If any reader has large amounts of money to spare, Graham could find a good home for it. We then embarked on our tour, which for me at least included the high spot in every sense, of a visit to the bell tower. The climb up the narrow spiral stair, following the much gentler night stair, was well worth the effort involved, while David and Carolyn Westgate took us through the intricacies of the process of ringing, introduced us to the new millennium bells and even rung one for us. Up again we went to see the bells themselves and to witness the movement involved in producing the wonderful note, having prudently covered our ears beforehand. The Abbey itself is a harmonious mix of old and less old, with its amazing carvings, the Leschman stonework and the wood panel paintings, with beautiful artefacts here and there, a favourite being the Anglo-Saxon chalice in its niche in the South Aisle. A visit to the Crypt is a must: the air of antiquity is almost overwhelming, a reminder of the beginnings of this great building and of the Romans who first used the great stones. It would take some time to do justice to the carvings and paintings, some macabre, some comic and some instructive, and our thanks are due to the Rector and all those who gave their time to show and explain what we were seeing. A cup of tea was very welcome after the climb back from the crypt. We never did find out which design has been selected for the new lancet windows, but this can wait until a further visit. The Music Festival is coming soon, just another of the many activities to be enjoyed at the Abbey. If you missed this visit, do go and look round; the guide book, available in the Abbey shop will help you do the tour, though without the personal contact of our friendly guides.
City and County
November 2011
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