In the 670s St Wilfrid, Bishop of the Northumbrians, founded a church which soon became a cathedral. It became the main centre from which Christianity spread throughout Northumbria. The Crypt, built from re-used Roman stones to display relics of St Andrew, which Wilfrid had brought from Rome, and the Cathedra (or bishop’s throne) where he sat can still be seen. Five hundred years later the Norman Archbishop of York refounded Hexham as an Augustinian Priory.

During four centuries the canons built the present church, entering for Matins by way of the unique Night Stair. After the 16th-century Reformation this great building became the Parish Church of St Andrew, with a new nave added in 1908.
Because the history of town and Abbey have been from the very start closely entwined, The Rector, Churchwardens and Parochial Church Council, together with the Historic Hexham Trust, seek to provide a Visitor Centre and Museum that will provide a welcome and an introduction to both.