Hexham Abbey: this tomb to a Roman standard bearer is around 2000 years old and shows the mounted Flavinus riding over a barbarian.

Hexham Abbey: this tomb to a Roman standard bearer is around 2000 years old and shows the mounted Flavinus riding over a barbarian.

For me what is striking about the monument is the tart of the message it conveys against the remarkable patina of its age and its location at the bottom of the night stair - where the canons would descend to Matins every day.

It probably stood in the military cemetery near Corbridge - not too far away from Hexham.

Hexham Abbey

Hexham Abbey is a remarkable building. St. Wilfrid's Anglo-Saxon crypt is a must see - pre-dating the existing church and made up of stones robbed out from Roman buildings.

The Big Story

Hexham has a wonderful display that tells the story of the abbey. I was commissioned to take many of the photographs on display.

The Big Story | Hexham Abbey
Hexham Abbey
Roman Memorial Stone, Hexham Abbey, Hexham, Northumberland | Educational Images | Historic England
This is a Roman tomb stone. According to the inscription below it the man riding in triumph over his enemy is called Flavinus. He was was a SIGNIFER or standard-bearer in Candidus’s troop of the ALA PETRIANA (the Petrian cavalry). He died at 25, after seven years of military service. Some of his arm…
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