We have a wide range of activities available at Hexham Abbey for children and we are constantly growing and evolving our offering to engage with the community and families. We hope that one of the services and activities we offer below appeals to you and we would love to have you join us at the Abbey one day!
Tots’ Praise is a welcoming mid‑week group for families with children aged 0–5. It’s a relaxed space to meet others, have fun, and gently explore the themes of Christianity together.
Designed especially for little ones, Tots’ Praise introduces Christian values through simple, engaging activities. Each session includes stories, songs, crafts, and plenty of friendly conversation.
Christianity is shared in an accessible and enjoyable way—children learn about prayer by sending bubble prayers up into the Abbey, and hear stories that reflect kindness, love, and other Christian values.
Tots’ Praise is completely free to attend, and everyone is warmly invited. Join us on Wednesday mornings at 9:30am—we promise you’ll be greeted with open arms.
If you’re looking for Sunday afternoon activities for everyone to enjoy with an introduction to the Christian faith, then Messy Church could be what you are looking for.
Messy Church aims to provide creativity, friendship, stories and most importantly – messy fun! Messy Church is aimed at children and adults to enjoy together and children must be accompanied by an adult.
Each session has a different theme based around a gospel story or theme that aligns with the Christian faith.
Previous themes have included ‘self-confidence’, ‘goodness and generosity’ and ‘angels’.
Messy Church is at 3pm on the 3rd Sunday of every month. (NOT IN AUGUST)
Sundays, 10am (termtime) Chat, fun, stories and activities in this ‘Sunday School’ style club during the 10am Eucharist. Suitable for ages 3 – 11.
Held monthly after the Sunday Eucharist – creation of content for kids magazine by children aged 7 to 12
Boy’s choir rehearse on a Wednesday and then sing at Choral Evensong following rehearsal. The Girls rehearse on a Thursday and join for Thursday’s Choral Evensong service. Rehearsals start at 4pm and Evensong is usually finished by about 7pm. The choirs share duties for singing at the Sunday service, alternating mornings at 10am and evenings at 6.30pm each week; giving individuals and families some flexibility.
Both choirs sing traditional choral music. Opportunities to sing on the medieval night stairs and by candlelight are provided regularly, providing a really atmospheric and magical experience.
Boys and girls joining Abbey choirs are not expected to be brilliant singers when they join (nor are they required to be churchgoers or believe in God!) Any boy or girl is welcome to come along and siblings are welcome to sing together if they feel more comfortable doing so. Most really enjoy it from the first go and we work hard to ensure it is a fun and welcoming experience. All our choristers have been in the position of any new starters and we are proud of how welcomed they make new boys and girls feel.
Opportunities for day trips, holidays, excursions and to join or be joined by visiting choirs are also provided. The choirs in recent years have sung on radio and television and have recorded a CD. They have travelled across England and Europe and we look forward to getting this opportunity back once the pandemic era has cleared a little more!
For further information on joining please contact Michael Haynes, Director of Music
For information on safeguarding, please go to the Safeguarding link on the top of our website.
Each season, we aim to provide an interactive and fun activity for children whilst exploring the Abbey. This may be in line with the seasons more as we know them – summer and winter or it may be a liturgical season such as Lent or Christmas.
We currently have a Children’s Trail in the Abbey for children of all ages to enjoy as well as a magazine.
We look forward to announcing further details on our Summer holiday activity trail ‘A Monk’s Tale’.
