Hexham Moot Hall & Old Gaol

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Manor Office; Archbishops Precinct; Hexham Castle

In the civil parish of Hexham.
In the historic county of Northumberland (Modern Authority of Northumberland, 1974 county of Northumberland).

Moot hall is lateC14/earlyC15 structure on the site of an earlier (pre-1355) Moot Hall. This also housed a chapel, gaol and untill 1838 a court (It is a Grade 2 listed building). Old Goal, or The Manor Office, is oblong tower of built circa 1330 as a gaol and served as such until the mid C19. Built partly of Roman masonry. Traditionally the courtyard between was enclosed by a strong wall to make a castle. Palace of the Archbishop of York.

This site has been described as a;
Masonry Castle
Palace.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 239167, 239106)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY93646411

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 18658, 18676

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N8730, N8731, N8734

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N8730
    http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N8731
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing)
    Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p188
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p68-9
    Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p101-2
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p187-8
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p89, 90
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p336
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p202-4
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p119-121
    Pevsner, N., 1957, The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin) p180-1
    Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p132-4
    Hodges, C.C. and Gibson, J., 1919. Hexham and its Abbey (Hexham), 126, 130-4
    Hinds, Allen B. (ed), 1896, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol3 p225-35
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p18
    Bulmer, T. (ed), 1886, History and Directory of Northumberland, Hexham Division p322-32
• Journal Articles
  • Ryder P.F., 1994. 'The Two Towers of Hexham' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser5] Vol22 p185-217
    Sockett, E.W., 1967. 'The Moot Hall garden, Hexham' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol45 p208
    Milner, L., 1976, ‘Hexham prison and Moot Hall’ Archaeological Journal Vol133 p202-3
• Guidebooks
  • Ryder P.F., 1995, The Two Towers of Hexham: Hexham Moot Hall and the Old Gaol, Buildings of Northumberland 1 (Newcastle)
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • 1415 list of Northumberland Castles [Click here]
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/nhumbeng.html#nhumb11]
• Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Ryder, P.F., 1995. Towers and Bastles in Northumberland Part 4 Tynedale District Vol2 p95-6