Editing Hexham (section)

== History ==
[[Hexham Abbey]] originated as a [[monastery]] founded by [[Wilfrid|St Wilfrid]] in 674. The [[crypt]] of the original monastery survives, and incorporates many stones taken from nearby Roman [[ruins]], probably [[Coria (Corbridge)|Corbridge]] or [[Hadrian's Wall]].<ref name=Graham>{{cite book| last = Graham| first = Frank| title = Hexham and Corbridge: a Short History and Guide| publisher = Butler Publishing| year = 1992| location = Thropton, Rothbury, Northumberland| pages = 2, 4, 5| isbn = 0-946928-19-3}}</ref>

The ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' (Manuscript D: [[Cotton Tiberius]] B IV) records the murder of King [[Ælfwald I of Northumbria|Ælfwald]] by [[Sicga]] at ''Scythlecester'' (which may be modern [[Cilurnum|Chesters]]) on 23 September 788:
<blockquote>This year Alfwald, king of the Northumbrians, was slain by Siga, on the ninth<ref>By modern counting, the 8th day before. By Roman counting the ''x''th day was (''y''-''x''+1) days before the ''y''th day: see [[Roman calendar#Months]].</ref> day before the [[calends]] of October; and a heavenly light was often seen on the spot where he was slain. He was buried at Hexham in the church.<ref>Kirby, pp. 153–154; Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Ms. D, s.a. 789.</ref><br>
''Her wæs Alfwald Norðhymbra cyning ofslægen fram Sigan on .viiii. Kalendas Octobris, 7 heofonlic leoht wæs lome gesewen þær þær he ofslægen wæs, 7 he wæs bebyrged on Hagustaldesee innan þære cyrican.''</blockquote>

Like many towns in the [[Anglo-Scottish border]] area and adjacent regions, Hexham suffered from the [[Anglo-Scottish Wars|border war]]s between the [[Monarchy|kingdoms]] of [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]] and [[Kingdom of England|England]], including attacks from [[William Wallace]] who burnt the town in 1297. In 1312, [[Robert I of Scotland|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 1346 the monastery was sacked in a later invasion led by King [[David II of Scotland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/campainview.asp?CampainId=51|title=Neville's Cross Campaign 1346|publisher=Battlefields Trust|access-date=7 April 2023}}</ref>

In 1464, during the [[Wars of the Roses]], the [[Battle of Hexham]] was fought somewhere to the south of the town; the actual site is disputed. The defeated Lancastrian commander, [[Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset]], was executed in Hexham marketplace. There is a legend that Queen [[Margaret of Anjou]] took refuge after the battle in what is known as The Queen's Cave, where she was accosted by a robber; the legend formed the basis for an 18th-century play by [[George Colman the Younger]] (''[[The Battle of Hexham]]''); but it has been established that Queen Margaret had fled to France by the time the battle took place. The Queen's Cave in question is on the south side of the West Dipton Burn, to the southwest of Hexham.<ref>[[Ordnance Survey]] OL43 map, '[[Hadrian's Wall]]'.</ref>

[[File:Stmaryschurchhexham peter brooks.jpg|thumb|200px|[[St Mary's Church, Hexham|St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Hexham]]]]

Until 1572, Hexham was the administrative centre of the former Liberty or Peculiar of [[Hexhamshire]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=43686 |title=Journal of the House of Lords May 1572|access-date=7 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=43688|title= Journal of the House of Commons May 1572|access-date=7 April 2023}}</ref>

In 1715, [[James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater]], raised the standard for [[James Francis Edward Stuart]] in Hexham Market place.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QBYHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA58 |title=Dilston hall; or, Memoirs of James Radcliffe, Earl of Derwentwater|first=William Sidney |last=Gibson|year= 1850|page=58|publisher=Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans}}</ref>

"Hexham" was used in the Borders as a [[euphemism]] for "[[Hell]]". Hence the term "To Hexham wi' you an' ye’r whussel!", recorded in 1873, and the popular expression "Gang to Hexham!".<ref name=rox/> "Hexham-birnie" is derived from the term and means "an indefinitely remote place".<ref name=rox>''The Roxburghshire word-book: being a record of the special vernacular vocabulary of the county of Roxburgh, with an appendix of specimens'' by George Watson, The University Press, 1923. p. 170</ref>

===Hexham riot===
In 1761, the [[List of massacres in Great Britain|Hexham Riot]] took place in the Market Place when a crowd protesting about changes in the criteria for serving in the [[Militia (Great Britain)|militia]] were fired upon by troops from the [[North York Militia]]. Some 45 protesters were killed, earning the Militia the [[sobriquet]] of The Hexham Butchers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hexham Riot |url=http://www.ndfhs.org.uk/Articles/HexhamRiot.html |access-date=2008-11-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021052058/http://www.ndfhs.org.uk/Articles/HexhamRiot.html |archive-date=21 October 2008 }}</ref>