Arcade of St Mary's Church, Hexham. Photo by Northumberland County Council.

St Mary's Church at Hexham was probably built about the years 705 to 709. It was erected by Wilfrid on the east side of the church of St Andrew [NY 96 SW 1] with only a graveyard and a narrow lane intervening. It was round in plan with four apses facing north, south, west and east. This church was left unfinished by Wilfrid and completed by Acca. In 875 it was destroyed by the Danes but was restored on the original plan.

In the 13th century it was either completely rebuilt on a rectangular plan, or a nave added to the original circular church. The Scottish invasions of 1296 and later, depopulated the district and the church fell into decay and had become a ruin by 1537. It was diverted to secular purposes and a document of 1634 refers to a 'bakehouse in the old church', and also states that a public thoroughfare runs through the middle of it.

In later years dwelling houses and shops encroached upon the building which has now been completely absorbed in this way. A few columns and other parts of 13th century workmanship may still be seen. The church seems to have been of considerable size with two arcades of eight bays each, separating the nave from the aisles.

In 1880, when an old wall behind the 'Grapes' Inn was being removed, two small cushion capitals and a hood moulding of Norman Workmanship were discovered.

No trace of a pre-Conquest building exists, all the extant remains being of 15th century date. In 1854 however, a window was discovered in the house of Mr Bell, a chemist, 6ft 0ins high by 7ins wide, with a triangular head: that is supposed to belong to the earlier church. A fragment of what was once a large pre-Conquest cross, was found in 1854, on the site of St Mary's Church. It is now in Durham Cathedral Library. (1)

[NY 9361 6407] The ruins of St Mary's Church are situated on the south side of the Market Place, exactly between Fore Street and St Mary's Chare, which are separated from each other by a short street called the Meal Market.

The back wall of the house and shops fronting the Market Place is the main north wall of the church. It retains its columns and arches and the rebuilt aisle wall, with its lancet windows inserted in the arches, in a very complete state.

Very little now remains of the south wall but two columns and the lower portion of a buttress were found in 1833, and were removed after their positions had been noted. In 1891 the western bay was laid bare and the stones forming it removed to the Abbey church.

The foundations of the east wall were seen in 1880 when the present London Joint City and Midland Bank was being built. (2)

Three fragments of the church are visible, all part of the walled up north arcade. There are almost certainly other portions extant but these are hidden in the modern buildings which occupy the site. The largest visible fragment is in the back wall of No 16 Market Place. It consists of a pillar and portions of two pointed arches and the head of a lancet window in the built up wall of the arcade.

At the top of the stairs to the first floor of No 14 Market Place, a fragment of pointed arch is visible. Against the east wall of the ground floor of No 13 Market Place, is the lower part of an octagonal pillar. See Illustrations Card. (3)

Condition unchanged. (4)

Parts of the blocked north arcade are visible in some of the shop premises which front onto the Market Place. (5)

No 15 Market Place incorporates remains of the north arcade of St Mary's Church. In summer 1997 No 15 (Paxton's fish and Chip Restaurant) was gutted by fire. Prior to refurbishment the known medieval walling was stripped of plaster and recorded by rectified photography and scale drawings.
Two previous watching briefs have been carried out on the site of the church by P Ryder. At No 1 Old Church, in May 1992, although no in situ remains of the church were found (the building on the site having been completely rebuilt in 1891) several architectural fragments were uncovered reused in the footings of the building. In September 1992, a trial pit in the Coal Hole of No 15 Market Place also failed to find any in situ remains of the church. The Coal Hole was the section of the cellar extending out beneath the pavement at the front of the property and beneath a concrete layer a cobbled floor was found resting on natural terrace deposits.
In 1997 the remains of the third and fourth bays of the north arcade of the 13th century church were uncovered, as well as the third pier. The pier is octagonal, with a moulded capital and base. The arcade arches are pointed and of two chamfered orders, with a hoodmould, at least towards the nave. No evidence was seen of the pre-Conquest church.
Both of the exposed arches of the 13th century arcades have been blocked up with lancet windows inserted in the blocking. Stylistically these lancets are 13th century and little different from the original arcade. However, historical evidence (relating to the 1296 Scottish raid and a 1310 reference to the roof being in disrepair) can be more readily correlated with a reduction in size of the church in the early 14th century. The lancet windows may have been reused from some other part of the building; it is unclear whether both aisles, or just the north aisle, were removed at this stage. Post-medieval disturbance has removed any evidence of medieval floor levels, or sub-floor structural features, within the area investigated in 1997.
There appears to have been continuous post-medieval occupation of the site, with houses and outbuildings built into the ruins of the church. The post-medieval structural history of No 15 Market Place is complex and linked with the development of adjacent properties.
Although post-medieval development and excavation of cellars will have removed sub-surface deposits, it seems likely that uncellared areas may survive under the small yards at the core of the tightly-packed group of properties now on the site of the church. (6)

Nos 11-13 Market Place were examined following a fire in 2000. The south wall of the building is in part medieval and incorporates a mutilated lancet window. It is interpreted as the north wall of the chancel or sanctuary of the medieval church. (7)(8)

After the destruction by the Danes in 875 the church probably lay in ruins for many years until eventually it was restored, possibly before the Priory. St Mary's continued in use alongside the Priory church. The church came in for radical building work in the 13th century, this time being built on the rectangular plan that can be traced today; what happened to the Saxon foundations of the earlier church is unknown. The new church had a rectangular plan with seven bays and aisles. The church became redundant after the Scottish invasion of 1296. By 1310 it was reported that St Mary's had no vicar, and few books, vestments or ornaments. The church was never a parish church, but was used as a chapel. A survey of 1547 mentions Le Ladye Prest chantry chapel, but this is not referred to in a survey of 1608. The Borough Book of 1634 records a bakehouse in the old church. The whole of the rectangular church building became absorbed in domestic and other buildings. (9)

Additional Reference (10a)