Religious Centre in Northumberland and medieval market
For starters, this is one of my favorite locations in the North of England. Hexam is one of the towns that follows the course of the River Tyne, in parallel to Hadrian's Wall. Hexam's history is very rich, as its historic buildings demonstrate, the most prominent are the medieval market square and the abbey, one of the best preserved in all the UK, despite its great antiquity. There is evidence that Hexham could have been one of the most important towns in Roman times. However, the establishment of the abbey was more important, in the year 674 with the arrival of St. Wilfrid (Bishop of York) who established a Benedictine monastery (which caused the town to grow), a major market center, a prison (one of the first in all of Britain) and several other significant buildings.
