Resident shares Hexham's local history on guided tour

Tom Corfe, a member of the Hexham Guild of Guides, had an 'infectious enthusiasm and a deep knowledge' regarding local history.

One of The Hexham Courant staff members put his local knowledge to the test a quarter of a century ago in 1999.

The 12th century St Wilfrid's Gate in Gilesgate as seen in 1999. When Henry VIII's supporters rode here to access the ecclesiastical wealth and politics, they were defied by a canon standing on the roof of the lodging room above the gate. They reputedly hung from the spot (Image: Newsquest)

Writer Jo Kelly described Tom: "As a member of the Hexham Guild of Guides, he is one of a band of aficionados who, on a weekly basis, scatter their pearls of wisdom on groups of tourists, newcomers to the town or natives who feel in need of a refresher course in their history.

"The guided walk I joined was so interesting and informative that it seemed sad to share the experience with so few people," she said.

READ MORE: What made Tynedale headlines up to 150 years ago?

Market Square, Hexham in 1999 (Image: Newsquest)

Fellow town trailers included a Canadian tourist, a mother and daughter from King's Lynn and a Derbyshire man with his dog.

They met Tom outside the Old Gaol to spend the next hour or so 'listening enthralled' as he gave the group a glimpse of Hexham's past. 

Prospect House in Hexham around 1980 (Image: Hexham Local History Society)

"He led us first to the Market Place, the central strand of a skein which knits together to form the unchanging fabric of the town; commerce, sandwiched between church and government in the form of the Abbey and Prospect House, where Tynedale Council sits."

Hexham did not exist until about 671 when Queen Etheldreda of Northumbria gave the land on which the Abbey stands to Bishop Wilfrid of York.

The Old Grammar School, Hexham in 1971 (Image: Hexham Local History Society)

He dedicated the church, built of dressed stone recycled from the ruins of Roman Corbridge, to Saint Andrew, whose cross can be seen on the stonework around the building.

Hexham Abbey and Bandstand in 1960 (Image: Hexham Local History Society)

Turning to the subject of food, he commended the Abbey tea room, which sold homemade scones and cakes cooked by his wife, among others.

A greetings from Hexham card, featuring St Wilfrid's Gate, The Abbey, Market Place, Tyne Green, Moot Hall and Tyne Bridge, circa 1910 (Image: Hexham Local History Society)

Jo said the raspberry cream sponge 'went down a treat'.

One of the tour's last ports of call was the Old Grammar School.

A roofscape over Hexham from the Abbey. Market Place, Moot Hall to the right, Wentworth car park and leisure facilities and Egger in the distance, in 1987 (Image: Hexham Local History Society)

"The Old Grammar School is an attractive Elizabethan building; a later porch contains the original stone door-posts which were at some stage heightened with the unfortunate addition of concrete blocks. 

Market Square, Hexham (Image: Hexham Local History Society)

"The day I joined it, Tom Corfe's tour covered events which gave birth to and moulded what we now perceive as the kernel of Hexham, the buildings on the plateau above the Tyne and its flood plain."

Tom had just published a book called Hexham Heritage, a comprehensive study of the town and it's history, from its beginning in Wilfrid's time, through Viking raids, dissolution of monasteries and the ravages of Scottish armies.