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Discover Hexham, 1885

Every road has a story to tell. Sometimes the unknown steps into an ordinary life, and nothing is ever the same again.

Discover Hexham, 1885
Hexham Abbey The Market Square Moot Hall The Shambles Great Stone Bridge The Blacksmith Old Goal Soup Vendor To Whitaker Farm To Ashgill Force The Rushing Weir River Tyne The Sele

Moot Hall

Moot Hall, 1885
This great medieval building once served as a courthouse and a heavily fortified gatehouse, protecting the entrance to the Archbishop of York’s private grounds.
By 1885, it was no longer used for the county’s biggest criminal trials, but it still served as the local Manor Office and held smaller neighborhood courts. Its massive stone walls and famous arched passageway stood proudly at the east end of the Market Place, serving as a powerful reminder of Hexham’s medieval past.

The Shambles

The Shambles

The Shambles was a covered market within Hexham’s larger Market Place. While the Market Place was the open square where farmers, merchants, shoppers, and carts gathered, the Shambles provided a sheltered place for trading. Built in 1766, its covered stalls offered protection from the often-wet Northumberland weather and formed an important part of the busy market scene.

Molly knows this place well: Meet Molly

Great Stone Bridge

Great Stone Bridge, 1885

Hexham’s great stone bridge was completed in 1793, after several earlier bridges across the River Tyne had been destroyed by floods. By 1885, its nine stone arches had carried generations of people, horses, carts, and travelers between Hexham and the countryside beyond

The Blacksmith

The blacksmith was one of the most important tradesmen in a farming community. His hot forge and anvil were used to make and repair horseshoes, tools, plough parts, gates, hinges, and other ironwork. Farmers depended on him to keep their horses and equipment working.

For the Whitakers, a visit to the blacksmith might mean having a horse shod, a worn tool repaired, or an important piece of farm equipment fixed. The forge was a busy, smoky place, filled with the sound of hammering iron and the heat of the fire.

Old Goal

The Old Gaol, 1885
Hidden just behind the Moot Hall on Hallgate stands the Old Gaol, one of England’s earliest purpose-built prisons. It was built in the 1330s for the Archbishop of York and was used to hold prisoners awaiting trial at the nearby Moot Hall.
By 1885, it was no longer a prison. The gaol had closed back in the 1820s, and the building was later used as busy business offices, including a bustling bank and a local solicitor's office. It was also serving as the official headquarters for the 2nd Northumberland Rifle Volunteers. Throughout the 1880s, local volunteer soldiers used the sturdy stone building to meet, train, and store their equipment, giving this ancient medieval prison a completely different purpose in the Whitakers' time.

Soup Vendor

Will and the Pease Soup Vendor

By the time Will reached Hexham, his stomach was making more noise than his boots. He had been walking since morning, and the smell of warm food drifting through the Market Place was almost too much to resist.

Then he spotted the soup vendor.

A steaming pot sat over a small fire, sending clouds of savory steam into the chilly air. Will stepped closer and peered inside.

“Pease soup?” he asked.

The vendor nodded and filled a small bowl with thick, warm soup made from dried peas. Will handed over his penny, found a place near the edge of the market, and took his first spoonful.

It was simple food, but after the long walk, it tasted like a feast.

To Whitaker Farm

On the Whitaker Farm a lot is happening. That's where the Whitakers first meet Archibald, and from there it gets a little more chaotic each day. Want to visit the Whitaker Farm?

Let's visit the Whitakers ➡️

To Ashgill Force

After a busy day discovering Hexham what better getaway than to visit the historic waterfalls. They were ground zero for Broken Sanctuary.

The falls are waiting➡️

The Rushing Weir

The Rushing Weir is a roaring, bubbly river waterfall! It acts like a giant shield for the bridge and lets majestic salmon leap high through the mist.

Discover the truth about The Rushing Weir

River Tyne

The River Tyne was a famous Victorian "flash flooder," fueled by pouring rain in the nearby western hills. Right around 1885, the river threw massive tantrums. The wild water rose so fast that it completely drowned Tyne Green (the flat parkland on the left side of the bridge). The bubbling white foam of the Rushing Weir completely vanished under a giant, charging highway of muddy brown water carrying floating haystacks, logs, and debris right through the stone arches!
The townspeople rushed to the riverbanks to see if the nine-arched bridge could survive the fierce currents. Thanks to the heavy stone ruins of past collapsed bridges anchoring the riverbed, the bridge stood strong against the great deluge of the 1880s!

The Sele

Welcome to The Sele (Sele Park)!
The Sele is a beautiful, wide-open green park located right in the center of Hexham, just to the west of the historic Hexham Abbey.
For hundreds of years, this park has been a favorite gathering spot for local families to play, walk, and relax. Today, it is most famous for hosting the town's massive, exciting fireworks display every November! It serves as an important real-world historical landmark on your interactive map of the Shire.

There’s more to Explore ➡️

Begin Your Journey

Explore Hexham Abbey, the marketplace, the great stone bridge, Victorian shops, and the people, places, and everyday life that shaped the world of Peckles-Wood Shire and Broken Sanctuary. Look closely. Something may be waiting to be discovered on your journey through Hexham, 1885.

Click any destination on the map to begin your adventure.

Get to Know Hexham, Britain Explore Hexham, 1885 →

Imagine stepping into Hexham in 1885.

Wagons rattle over the old stone bridge. Horses pull carts through busy streets. Shop doors open onto the marketplace, miners and farmers go about their work, and the sound of the railway carries through the valley. Above it all stands the ancient Hexham Abbey, watching over the town as it has for centuries.

This is the Hexham the Whitaker family knew—a real Northumberland town filled with familiar faces, busy streets, old buildings, and places where something unexpected might happen.

Will Whitaker will spend one night in a stable in Hexham—a night that will change his life. What happens there? That is a story you’ll have to discover for yourself.

Follow Will’s journey through Hexham, discover the places he encountered, and keep your eyes open for the stories and surprises waiting along the way.

Thank you for visiting Peckles-Wood Shire. We hope your journey through 1885 brings wonder to every road you travel. Keep exploring—you never know what you might discover along the way.

Continue the adventure with the Broken Sanctuary novel, the first journey into the world of Peckles-Wood Shire. Then discover collectibles and keepsakes inspired by the Whitaker family’s adventure.

Own a Piece of 1885 → | Peckles-Wood Shire Map →

A vintage-style illustrated map featuring various towns in the Lake District, including Workington, Whitehaven, Cockermouth, Carlisle, Keswick, Penrith, Alston, and Appleby-in-Westmorland, surrounded by mountains and landscapes.

The Illustrator’s Vision—The maps and illustrations of Peckles-Wood Shire are inspired by the real landscapes, places, and traditions of Victorian Northumberland. Created for The Chronicles of Peckles-Wood Shire, they blend historical research with imagination to bring the world of Broken Sanctuary to life and invite young explorers to step into the Whitaker family’s adventure of 1885.

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