Local archive
Culture
The Brocksbushes Christmas Fayre will return from November 12 to 15, bringing more than 70 independent businesses, live music, demonstrations, workshops and seasonal food to the farm shop near Hexham.
Culture
James Leighton, the Northumberland medium known as the ‘Extra Large Medium’, has described how encounters in Hexham Abbey’s graveyard during his childhood shaped his career. He is now preparing to launch an autobiography at a sold-out event at Chillingham Castle on November 3.
Culture
Chrysalis Club Tynedale will host a live music night at Hexham Mart on Saturday, November 14, with tickets priced at £16 and proceeds supporting its work with people living with dementia and their families.
Culture
A series of activities and opportunities has been announced for children and families in and around Hexham, including a Queen’s Hall writing workshop, a Northumberland-wide competition, a free lantern parade and holiday sessions.
Culture
Ferg Kilsby, who attended schools in Hexham, is competing for the 2026 Mercury Prize with Newcastle jazz group Knats and will perform at the Newcastle ceremony.
Culture
Hexham has been named the United Kingdom’s first designated Arts Town after more than 18 months of engagement and planning led by the Hexham Cultural Forum.
Culture Corbridge
A look back through the Hexham Courant archives reveals how public services, farming, heritage, industry, war and archaeology shaped life across Hexham and the Tyne Valley over the past 150 years.
Culture The Sele
The Hexham Lantern Parade will return to Sele Park on Friday, November 13, with a free evening procession led by Northern Monkey Brass Band. Families can also make lanterns at free Queen’s Hall workshops during the October half term and in early November.
Culture
Hexham Old Gaol will host an Escape the Gaol Trail, Tales from the Gaol and a sensory-needs session during the October half term, as part of North East Museums’ Ways to Play programme.
Culture
Hexham Abbey has received a £5,000 grant from The Ouseley Church Music Trust to support its Choral Scholars and Chorister Supervisor across the 2026/27 and 2027/28 academic years.
Culture
Hairy Bikers star Si King will appear at Hexham Book Festival at 6.15pm on November 3 as part of a North East tour promoting his first solo cookbook, Proper Home Cooking.
Culture
A new illustrated book by Andy Bull explores the historic paths associated with Northumberland’s Northern saints, including the route through Hexham Abbey.
Culture
Pete Doherty has told fans he will be “back out there” in October, with Babyshambles performances planned in Italy, Germany and France and The Libertines scheduled to headline a 2026 festival in South Korea.
Culture
Hexham Abbey will host three theology lectures in October and November 2026 as part of Jacqui Parkinson’s free Threads Through Revelation exhibition.
Culture
Hexham Abbey has received £138,088 in development funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for plans to conserve its internationally significant medieval treasures and improve how visitors experience them. The project must secure a further £165,000 in partnership funding before it can move to the next stage and seek a potential full grant of £994,022.
Culture Bellingham
A Hexham Courant MP column argues that children in the North East should have greater access to national cultural experiences, while celebrating local heritage work in Stamfordham and reflecting on recent scenes in Dover and Portsmouth.
Culture
The 74th Hexham Abbey Festival will run from September 23 to 27, bringing music, storytelling and film to Hexham Abbey and Forum Cinema.
Culture The Sele
Hexham has been ranked third among the North East’s best destinations for a quiet break, with LNER’s study highlighting the town’s historic sites, green spaces, independent businesses and access to Northumberland’s countryside.
Culture
Heritage Open Days will bring free tours, talks and activities to museums and historic venues across the North East from 11 to 20 September, including a House of Correction tour at Hexham Old Gaol.
Culture Priestpopple
Hexham is set to appear prominently in Channel 5 drama Forever Home after serving as one of the production’s main filming locations. The town’s scenery, architecture and hospitality businesses feature in the story behind the new series, which stars Kevin Whately, Douglas Henshall, Lewis Cope, Amy Nuttall and Denise Welch.
Culture
The cast and crew of Channel 5 drama Forever Home, filmed partly in Hexham and Stocksfield, will gather for a North East premiere at Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema on Friday, 4 September.
Culture
Queen Elizabeth High School Youth Theatre will begin rehearsing Les Misérables in September, with auditions and performances scheduled for January 2027.
Culture
The former Hexham Fire Station at Tyne Mills is due to be demolished next week to make way for a new Northumberland County Council depot, ending hopes that it could become an arts and storage centre for Sir Antony Gormley’s work.
Culture
Hexham Abbey will host Threads Through Revelation, a free exhibition of 14 monumental embroidered panels by acclaimed textile artist Jacqui Parkinson, from 13 October to 22 November 2026.
Culture Priestpopple
A ChronicleLive retrospective looks back at Dontino’s, later known as Studio and affectionately called “Donnies”, tracing its history from a 1972 opening to its permanent closure in 2018 and the planned conversion of the Priestpopple building into flats.
Culture
A new exhibition at Hexham Abbey will commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme and tell the First World War stories of local families.
Culture
Hexham Abbey will host a Glastonbury-style weekend featuring tribute performances, local musicians, expanded facilities and a Sunday screening at the Forum Cinema.
Culture Haydon Bridge
Hexham library will be designated a Northumberland “hub” library with 43 staffed hours each week, Saturday opening and on-site customer services under revised plans due to go to the council’s Cabinet for a final decision.
Culture
Hexham Abbey has received a £138,088 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant to develop a major conservation project for its internationally renowned medieval panel paintings and other historic treasures.
