Hexham Abbey high-altar cross

The Hexham Abbey high-altar cross is a metal-and-enamel cross placed on the main altar in Hexham Abbey in Northumberland, England. Designed by Herbert Maryon of the Keswick School of Industrial Art and executed by its craftsman Jeremiah Richardson, the cross was donated to the church by a parishioner in 1902, and unveiled on Good Friday. Two matching candlesticks were added in 1905, and another four in 1996; these now stand next to the cross, three on either side.

The cross comprises a concave base, long shaft, arms, and a head; an enamelled red boss surrounded by seven crystals sits in the centre. Including the base and arms, the cross is 87 cm (34 in) tall and 47 cm (19 in) wide. The shaft, arms, and head are slightly curved. The front of the cross, and the front and sides of the base, feature an interlaced repoussé Celtic design of an endless knot. The knot represents eternity, while the seven crystals represent the seven churches of Hexham, and possibly also the seven canonised Bishops of Hexham. The cross combines elements of a Latin cross and a Maltese cross, and echoes Norse motifs; the enamelled boss recalls the Hawell Monument, erected by the Reverend Hardwicke Rawnsley, the founder of the Keswick School.

The candlesticks are similar in design to the cross. Each features a base, long stem, and candle holder. The two from 1905 were designed by Robert Hilton, who succeeded Maryon as director of the Keswick School the prior year, and feature a matching interlace pattern on all four sides; the four from 1996, which were designed to match the existing two, include the pattern on only the front. The 1905 candlesticks each include an inscription memorialising a man who died that year at the age of 24, and the 1996 candlesticks an inscription memorialising the former music director of Hexham Abbey.

At the time of its unveiling, The English Lakes Visitor wrote that the cross was "magnificent" and "the chief of the many beautiful works wrought at the School",^[1] and The Newcastle Daily Journal that the cross was "indeed a work of art".^[2] In a speech at the end of the year, Rawnsley highlighted the cross as one of the school's most important works that year. A 2001 history of the school, meanwhile, termed the cross "delicately restrained in its design with clean simple lines".^[3]

Background

Keswick School of Industrial Art

The Keswick School of Industrial Art was founded in 1884 by the Reverend Hardwicke Rawnsley and his wife Edith to offer classes in metal repoussé.^[4] Formed at the beginning of the Arts and Crafts movement, the school quickly expanded to include classes in drawing, design, woodcarving, and metalwork.^[4] The school melded commercial with artistic purposes; it sold items such as trays, frames, tables, and clock-cases, and developed a reputation for quality.^[5]

In March 1900, Herbert Maryon was hired as the first director of the school.^[6] Under Maryon's leadership, the Keswick School expanded the breadth and range of its designs; at the same time, Maryon executed several important commissions.^[7] His best works, wrote the historian of the school Ian Bruce, "drew their inspiration from the nature of the material and his deep understanding of its technical limits", and tended to be in metal.^[7] The school also employed craftsmen, numbering around a dozen by 1904.^[8] These included Jeremiah Richardson, who had joined the school as a pupil by 1891.^[8] Maryon remained at the school until December 1904, when he was succeeded by Robert Hilton.^[9] He later taught at the University of Reading and Armstrong College (then part of Durham University), then after the Second World War worked on the restoration of objects from Sutton Hoo for the British Museum.^[10]

History

The cross was purchased from the Keswick School by Dorothy Oswald Head,^[11] as a gift for Hexham Abbey, a church in Hexham, Northumberland.^[12][13] It was designed by Maryon and executed by Jeremiah Richardson.^[12][14] The enamelled centre was made by Lilian Hawthorn, who was then an art student aged about 22.^[15][16] The cross was finished on 26 March 1902,^[1] and installed on the altar two days later on Good Friday.^[15]

From 29 May to 2 June 1902—two months after the cross was gifted to Hexham—it was displayed at the Keswick School's stall at the Home Arts and Industries Association Exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall in London.^[12][17] The cross was placed at the centre of the stall.^[18] The school received approximately 66 awards for around three dozen works.^[19][12][18] Among these were two blue stars for the cross, recognising excellence in execution.^[19][12] The stall was visited by Queen Alexandra, the wife of King Edward VII; she bought a silver spoon designed by Isobel McBean and made by Robert Temple, and a silver jug designed and made by the latter.^[12][20][21] Princess Victoria and Princess Charles each also bought similar silver spoons.^[12]

In 1905, a pair of candlesticks with a similar design was added to the altar.^[22] They were designed by Hilton, who took over from Maryon as director of the Keswick School that year, and were dedicated to Henry Robert Harrison, who died that year in Luxor at the age of 24.^[22] In 1996, four more were added.^[23] These were donated by Marilyn Atkinson in memory of her husband Terence Atkinson, MBE, who was the music director at Hexham from 1965 to 1985, and who died in 1994.^[23][24] They were dedicated by Alec Graham, the Bishop of Newcastle, on 27 October 1996.^[23]

As of 2026, the cross and the candlesticks remain on Hexham Abbey's high altar.^[15][22][23] Three candlesticks stand on either side of the cross; a 1996 candlestick is on either side of the cross, followed by a 1905 candlestick, followed by another from 1996.^[22][23]

Description

Altar cross

The cross comprises a concave base, long shaft, arms, and a head.^[2] It is made primarily of metal, stands 87 cm (34 in) tall at the base, and measures 47 cm (19 in) wide at the arms.^[15] The shaft, arms, and head are slightly curved.^[2] The front of the cross, and the front and sides of the base, feature an interlaced repoussé Celtic design of an endless knot.^[2][3] In the centre of the cross is a boss made of red enamel, surrounded by seven crystals;^[2] the seven represent the seven churches of Hexham, and possibly also the seven canonised Bishops of Hexham.^[2]

According to The English Lakes Visitor and The Newcastle Daily Journal, the cross "is what may be called a Latinised Maltese", combining elements of a Latin cross and a Maltese cross.^[1][2] According to Ian Bruce, writing in a 2001 history of the Keswick School, the endless knot symbolises eternity.^[3] The cross draws upon Norse motifs, he added, while the enamelled boss echoes the Hawell Monument, erected by Rawnsley.^[25]

Candlesticks

Though executed nine decades apart, the six candlesticks flanking the cross share a similar design.^[22][23] Each stands 64 cm (25 in) high and at the base measure 23 cm (9.1 in).^[22][23] They each have a square base with an upper curved area, which connects to a long square stem; at the top is a square candle holder.^[22][23]

On the two candlesticks from 1905, the base (including the upper curved area) and the stem of each side display an interlace pattern.^[22][23] The four from 1996 contain the same interlace pattern, but only on the front.^[22][23]

Each of the six candlesticks is inscribed.^[22][23] On those from 1905, an inscription in capital letters winds around the four sides of the base: "Ad gloriam Dei et in memoriam / Henrici Roberti Harrison / Qui obiit anno salutis MDCCCCV / Suae aetatis XXIV", translating to "To the Glory of God and in Memory of Henry Robert Harrison / Who Died in the Year of Salvation 1905 / Aged 24".^[22] The inscriptions on the four candlesticks from 1996 are on the back, set across two lines in capital letters: "A.D.G.M. In Memory of / Terence Atkinson M.B.E. Obit 18-11-1994".^[23] The acronym stands for "Ad Deo Gloriam Majorem, translating as "To the Greater Glory of God".^[23]

Reception

The day after the cross was unveiled, The English Lakes Visitor wrote that it was "a magnificent altar cross, which, without the slightest hesitation, may be classed the chief of the many beautiful works wrought at the School".^[1] In a similar column the following week, The Newcastle Daily Journal wrote that "The cross is indeed a work of art, and no trouble has been spared to make it in design and workmanship worthy of its sacred symbolism and the noble Abbey."^[2] Praising Maryon's "skilful" design, both papers termed the interlace design "exquisite", and the cross "pleasingly proportional in appearance" and "worthy of a place on the Communion table of the fine and interesting old Hexham Abbey".^[1][2]

In November 1902, in an address opening the winter session of the school, Rawnsley included the cross amongst the most important works created by the school that year.^[20] Other such works Rawnsley highlighted included a casket presented to Princess Louise upon her visit to the school (designed by Maryon, executed by Richardson, Temple, and Thomas Clark, and enamelled by Maryon's sister Mildred Maryon); a processional cross for a church in Leeds; a tablet for Kendal Savings Bank; two tablets for St Kentigern's Church in Crosthwaite; the jug purchased by the Queen; a gold cross for Whitelands College; a challenge shield for Morecambe; and a Victoria tablet.^[20][26][27]

In his 2001 history of the school, Bruce wrote that the cross is "delicately restrained in its design with clean simple lines".^[3]