834 
HEX 
firral ! elate, nearly the fame with the Lilia, or liliaceous 
plants of other writers ; and contains a great part of'the 
fix-th, nintlr, tenth, and eleventh, orders, in Linnaeus’s 
iVat?ural' Arrangement, with the admixture of Tome 
others. This clafs is exemplified in the Botany Plate X.' 
fig. 6. vol. iii. 
HEX AN'GULAR, adj'. [of £ f, Gr. and angulus, I. at.] 
Having lix corners.— Hexangular fprigstpr (hoots of crys¬ 
tal . Woodward. 
HEX'APEDE, /. A fathom; fix feet in length. Cole. 
HEXAPET'ALOUS, adj. [from £ f, Gr. fix, and. 
ortlctAov, a petal.] In botany, flowers having fix leaves 
in the corolla. 
HEXAPHYL'LOUS, adj. [from £ f, fix, and tpvT^ov, a 
a: leaf.] Compofed of fix leaves ; having fix leaves. 
HEX'APLA, J'. [from £ |, fix, and a-zvAow, I unfold 1 .] 
In cllureh-hiftory, that celebrated edition of the Greek 
Bible which is difpofed in fix columns, containing the 
text, and divers verfions thereof; compiled and pub- 
lifhed by Origen,.with a view of fecuring the facred text 
from future corruptions, and in the hope of correcting 
thole that had been already introduced. See the article 
B'lC'LE, vol 1 . iii. p. n. 
HEX'A POD, /. [ s |, and Gr.] An animal with 
fix feet.—I take thole to have been the hexapods, from 
which the greater fort of beetles come ; for that fort of 
hcxapodb are eaten in America. Ray. 
HEXAS'TIC, or Hexasticok f. [*|, and Gr.] 
A poem of fix lines. 
HEN'AP TOTE, or Hexap'toton, f. [from sf, Gr. 
and it\acr if,' a cafe.] In grammar, a noun declined with 
fix cafes. 
HEXAS'TICUS, f. In botany, a kind of barley with 
fix rows of corns in the ear. Phillips. 
HEX'ASTYLE, J'. In architecture, any building de¬ 
corated with fix columns in front. 
HEX'MAM, a very ancient town in the county of 
Northumberland, celebrated as the Axelodunum of the 
Romans. The approach to this town is very pleafing, 
the cultivated vale fpreading ilfelf on every hand, paint¬ 
ed with all tIre happy affemblage of woods, meadows, 
and corn-lands, through which flows the river Tyne; 
the northern and fouthern (b eams, having united, form¬ 
ing upon the valley various broad canals, by the wind¬ 
ing of its eourfe. At-the conflux of the rivers lies 
the beautiful retreat of Nether Warden, defended from 
the north-weft by lofty eminences, and facing the valley 
towards the calf, hallowed to the churchmen, as being 
the retirement of St. John of Beverly, a bifliop of Hex¬ 
ham in fo diftant an age as 685. A little further, 
and oppofite to Hexham, on an eminence, (lands the 
church of St. John Lee, beneath whole fcite the banks 
for near a mile are laid out in agreeable walks, formed 
In a happy tafte, appertaining to the manfion of the Ju- 
rin family, a modern building, feated at the foot of the 
defcent, and fronting towards Hexham, having'a rich 
lawn of meads betweeh'it and the river. From thence 
the vale extends itfelf in breadth, and is terminated with 
a view of the town of Corbridge. The hills, which 
arifegradually from the plainonevery hand, are well cul¬ 
tivated, and adorned with the feats of many diftinguiflved. 
families. It is 386 miles from London. Its population 
is computed at two thoufand fouls. The market-place, 
near the centre of the town, is a large fquare, in which 
is a convenient piazza for the markets, which are held 
twice in the week, on Tuefdays and Saturdays; and 
two annual fairs, Auguft 5 and November 8. 
This town is not incorporated, but governed by a bai¬ 
liff and the jury of the manor. It had a monaftery, 
founded in mz, with liberties fo large as procured it 
the name of a (hire ; and by an ait of parliament in the 
reign of Henry VIII. it was of itfelf made a county-pa¬ 
latine. It alio was the fee of a bifliop in 674 ; but the 
diocele was fo haraffed and ruined by the Danes, that 
H E X 
no- one would* accept the bifltopric; and therefore it was. 
united to Lindisfarn in 883 . The original church was- 
raifed by- : workmen brought from Italy, and is (aid to 
have exceeded’ in beauty and elegance- every other in- 
Bngland ; no; part of which now remain's. • The prefent 
church is however a noble ftbtufture, containing many- 
ancient tombs; and> is attributed’ toils fir ft prior. The 
architecture is a mixture of Saxon- and: Gothic. This- 
church poffeffed that ignominious privilege called fane- 
tuary, till taken away- by Henry VHI'. but the (tool of 
peace is (till preferved here. Whoever took poffeflion- 
of it was hire of r-emiflion, and its privilege extended a 
mile from the church, iii four directions,- the extent of 
which was marked bv a crate; and heavy penalties 
were levied; with excommunication, on whoever (fitful d? 
dare to-violate the fanctuary’. livthe choir was a beau¬ 
tiful 1 oratory, now converted into a pew. On the fcreen, 
at the entrance of the choir, are feme ftrange monadic 
paintings, called the Dance of Death. The interior or¬ 
naments of the church are highly finlftfed in the Gothic 
tafte; the pillars cindered, but heavy. In the vault 
are l'everal Roman altars, that have beeinufed in the 
walls ana ceilings, which (upports the idea of a Roman’ 
flat ion having occupied- this fpot-. At the weft-end of 
the church are the remains of the priory. It was a fpa- 
cious building with an adjoining cloifter. The refec¬ 
tory- is dill per-fedl, and ferves as a room of entertain¬ 
ment at public times ; it is fpacious, with a roof of oak- 
work. The remains of the cloifters (flow them to*have 
been elegant, richly embdiiftied with pierced-work of 
fruit and foilage. The town and priory were deftroyed 
by the Scots in 1196,. and pillaged again in 1346. 
There are two ancient (tone towers in Hexham :, the 
one ufed as a court or feflions houfe, anciently an ex¬ 
ploratory-tower, and belonging to the bifhops and pri¬ 
ors of Hexham; the other lituated on the top of the 
hill towards the Tyne, of remarkable architecture, be¬ 
ing fquare, containing very frnal-1 apertures to admit the 
light, and having.a eourfe of corbels projecting a long 
way from the top, which feem to have fupported a hang¬ 
ing gallery, and befpeak the tower not to be at prefent 
near its original height. The founders of thefe places 
are not known. 
The town, befides other charities, has an excellent 
grammar-fchool, well endowed. The town was, in 
1571, annexed to the county of Cumberland ; but only 
in civil matters; for its eccleliaftical jurildiCtion is not 
the fame with the reft of the county, it being (till a pe¬ 
culiar belonging to the archbifliop of York; and thei 
vulgar (till call the neighbouring county “Hexham, 
(hire.” A rivulet, called Hexbold, runs by the town,, 
which fometimes overflows fuddenly, and is attended' 
with conliderable inconvenience. 
Hexham has been unhappy in civil bloodflied; the 
(laughter made by the Richmondfliire militia 011 the col¬ 
liers, in their infurreCtion, is remembered with horror ; 
no troops in the world could have (food with greater 
fteadinefs and military propriety than they did, (iiftain- 
ing the infults of an enraged crew of fubterranean fa-, 
vages, whilft the timorous magiftrates delayed their 
command for defence, till the arms of the foldiers were 
feized by the infurgents, and turned on themfelves; 
and an officer was (hot at the head of his company, as 
he was remonftrating with the mob. Here is abundant 
bufinefs for the antiquary ; every part (lvows ruined caf- 
tles, Roman altars, inferiptions, monuments of battles, 
of heroes killed, armies routed, and the devaftating hand 
of time. There was a bloody battle fought near this 
town, between the houfes of Lancafter and York, in 
1461, wherein the former were defeated, chiefly by the 
extraordinary bravery and conduit of John Nevil lord 
Montacute, who was for that* reafon created Earl of 
Northumberland. This defeat, which followed in the 
train of many other calamities, rendered the caufe of 
queen 
