Hexham Moot Hall. Photo Northumberland County Council, 1971.

[NY 9364 6411] Hall. (1)

The date of the Moot Hall, which stands in the Market Place is uncertain. A document of 1355 refers to the chamber of the bailiff and the hall of pleas as being in a ruinous condition and from this it would seem that a building for the transaction of manorial business had been in existence long before 1355. The building may have been a fortified structure similar to that now existing. The same document ordered that the building be repaired but it is not known if the old structure was patched up or the present building erected.
Only one tower at Hexham is mentioned in a list of towers made in 1415 but there is nothing to indicate whether this refers to the Moot Hall or the Goal [NY 96 SW 10]. A document of 1439 refers to the Moot Hall as a new tower, but it may have been several years old at that date. The only positive deduction that can be drawn is that the building was erected at some time between 1355 and 1439. Architecturally it cannot be much earlier than the closing years of the 14th century. A survey of 1552 refers to both towers as being in decay, but in 1608 the Moot Hall was in good repair. During the Scotch war of 1640 it was suggested that the two towers be garrisoned with 150 musketeers. Used as a court house until 1838 the Moot Hall is the property of the lord of the manor.
The building is of three storeys and includes a covered gateway, with three pairs of gates. It was intended to serve the various functions of gateway, justice hall and a dwelling for the seneschal or bailiff. (2)

The gateway of the Moot Hall gives access to the area known as Hall Gate or Hall Garth. This area, or bailey, around the Gaol was enclosed by a precinct wall or enceinte. Some ancient masonry is still to be seen in the lower part of the wall of the house at the angle of the Market Place and Hall Stile Bank, and is without a doubt a portion of this wall 'still in situ'. (3)

The Moot Hall is in good condition and used to house the Brough Library.
The house at the angle of Market Place and Hall Stile Bank (3) is now completely demolished and no trace of any masonry that could be associated with a precinct wall of the outer enclosure or bailey remains.
Projecting from the east wall of the Moot Hall, and bonded to it, is a fragment of walling, possibly part of the precinct wall referred to by authority (3). The fragment is too small for any definite conclusions to be drawn regarding its purpose. The extent of any outer enclosure or bailey that may have existed could not be ascertained. [See Illustration Card.] (4)

[NY 9364 6411] Moot Hall. (5)

Condition unchanged. (6)

The Moot Hall. Grade I.
5334 MARKET PLACE
(East Side)

NY 9364 1/3 2.10.51.

Late 14th/early 15th century. T-shaped plan. Four storey tower gate and three storey square strongly built annexe. Rough ashlar. Tower has two storey pointed recess on each side with portcullis provision and two-light windows with cusped heads. Vaulted thoroughfare on ground floor. Stair windows to west, stair windows and one window to east. Third floor consists of small rectangular blocks, with chapel to east. Annexe has machicolated parapet and one window on each side, two-light windows with cusped head. East side has 17th century exterior staircase to first floor and doorway with pointed arch. To right of doorway is garderobe projection rising to the parapet.
Interior: Brough Library on first floor. Second floor ruinous and contains the old town stocks. Ground floor has segmental barrel vault. AM.

St Andrew's Church together with the listed buildings in the Market Place, form a group of which Nos 8, 10 and 16 are of local interest. (7)

Moot Hall was built as a tower house with two turreted wings. Included in 1415 castle list. Was property of Archbishops of York. Ground floor room has stone tunnel vault; east tower contains newel and small rooms. Garderobe preserved; rest altered. (8)

NY 936641. Area to west of Moot Hall excavated to prove existence of a moat between it and the Priory - only a build up of post-medieval levels was found. Area permanently filled in [1965]. (9)

Excavation of Moot Hall garden (NY 937641). Site previously occupied by a building dating from at least the 1750's - no date found from documentary search. Remains of three basement walls found, a paved floor and a wooden floor. Four clay pipes found. (10)

Gate tower or Moot Hall, a tower which may have formed a castle with the Manor Offices [NY 96 SW 10] if in medieval times they were connected by a curtain wall. Moot Hall is late 14th or early 15th century. T-shaped in plan. Moot Hall made of stone from the bed of the River Tyne. (11)

Excavation to west of Moot Hall - no moat found, only a build up of post-medieval levels. (12)

(Full architectural description and outline of structural history). (13)

The Moot Hall consists of a rectangular three storeyed block aligned north-south, with a vaulted east-west gate passage at its southern end; at each end of the gate passage is a taller tower, producing an overall plan like an inverted letter 'T'. The building is built of squared blocks of sandstone, its architectural features (where original) - several windows with cusped heads, and four-centred arches - would all tie in with an early 15th century date.
At basement level there is a vaulted chamber to the north of the entrance passage, from which a newel stair in the south east tower rises the full height of the building. There is also a doorway into the basement from a chamber beneath an external stair on the east of the building, the principal access to the upper floors. This stair and the chamber beneath, are largely late 17th or early 18th century in date, but the doorway into the main basement, a two-centred arch, is earlier in character than any other feature in the building; this and some walling on the north side of the stair, appears to survive from an earlier medieval structure.
The external stair gives access to the former courtroom, now the Border Library, which has a raised dais over the gate passage. All features at this level are heavily restored. The principal access to the second floor, the bailiff's hall, is by a modern timber stair, perhaps replacing an earlier one.
The second floor hall has a variety of interesting features including a heavily restored mural fireplace on the west, a possible buffet at the north west corner, a garderobe at the north east corner, and chambers in the two towers at the south end; which formerly had machicolations in their floors, opening behind the high arches spanning the ends of the gate passage. The roof structure of the hall is of some interest, heavy tie beams carrying both ridge and purlins; at the northern corners are corbelled out projections that may have originally carried some form of platforms or angle turrets.
The south west tower had a second chamber above the first, now thrown into it, and a third reached from the flat roof of the main block; the roof level chambers in both towers may have been used by watchmen. The chambers in the south east tower are served by the newel stair; that above the main hall has clearly had some special status, being equipped with a two-light window looking down into the hall, and a piscina-like feature in the south wall.
The tower has a machicolated parapet (largely 20th century restoration on the old corbels). (14)

Descheduled on 16th July 1998. Formerly ND251. (15)

Analysis on 19 samples taken from timbers of the roof of the Moot Hall resulted in the construction of two site sequences. Site sequence HEXBSQ01 contains ten samples and spans the period AD1244-1378. Two of these samples are from timbers felled in c.AD1379, with the other eight having an estimated felling date range also consistent with this felling. Seven of these samples come from timbers with obvious signs of reuse. Site sequence HEXBSQ02 contains eight samples and spans the period AD1341-1539. One of these samples is from a timber felled in AD1539, with it likely that the other seven were also felled at this time. This roof was previously thought to date to c.AD1400. Tree-ring analysis has shown it to be constructed with timber felled in AD1539 but incorporating a large amount of reused timber from c.AD1379, possibly from the original roof. (16)

NY 936 641. Hexham Moot Hall. Scheduled No ND/251. (17a)

Additional Reference (17b)