About The Home of Racing

James I pictured above, is credited for introducing horseracing into Britain.

The fortunes of a little East Anglian market town, surrounded by rolling heathland, were changed forever when King James I decided to pursue two of his favourite pastimes, hunting and hawking, nearby.

It was 1604 and Fordham Parish register records: “Upon Wednesday 27th February, in the year above written, the high and mighty Prince James, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith etc. did hunt the hare with his own hounds in our fields of Fordham and did kill hare at a place called blacklands. And afterwards did take his repast in the said field at a bush near unto king's path.”

James liked what he saw and established himself in Newmarket in 1605 (the same year in fact because the calendar then changed in April rather than January). The town’s population was then around 500 people and it covered about 500 acres.

The King chose an old inn, The Griffin, as his base when he visited Newmarket, probably because this was the only inn in town licensed to sell wine. The innkeepers, Leonard and Margaret Beale, leased The Griffin to the King for £100 a year. Then, in 1608, James decided to buy it from them for the sum of £400. He wanted a permanent base in Newmarket, so land was also acquired on the High Street in 1609.

So, the least imposing of James’ Royal Palaces came to be. This first palace was not a grand building - more like a hunting lodge - and it was old even then (The Griffin was mentioned in a will in 1439). Visiting dignitaries were shocked at how basic it was. Renovations were completed in 1610 but subsidence caused the main buildings to collapse only 3 years later. The King and members of the court were inside at the time, but fortunately the King was dragged clear and no-one was hurt.

The King had also bought the Swan Inn (present Jockey Club site) and both inns were demolished to make way for a proper palace for him and for his son Charles (later Charles I).  James’ second palace covered about an acre of land. The front stretched along the High Street from the corner of Sun Lane to approximately the Jockey Club - further west along the High Street than the third palace, later built by King Charles II (a small portion of which still exists today as Palace House in Palace Street). 

The Prince's Lodging 1619, picture by Inigo Jones

Inside James’ palace were the royal apartments, a chapel, kitchens, a brewhouse, offices, a forge, a storehouse, a coach house and a garden. Stables, the clerk of works’ house and a 'dogghouse^' (kennels) were behind All Saints' Church. There were also 4 acres of arable land and a small garden.  The then enormous sum of over £20,000 was lavished on the new palace between 1609 and 1625.

The palace also had a ‘Bricke buildinge called the Tennis Court’. This ‘real’ or ‘royal’ tennis court was open above but had a narrow, inwardly-sloped roof on all four sides. Newmarket is one of only a few places today which still has a functional royal tennis court (in Fitzroy Street). In this game the ball is bounced off the roof, not hit directly to the other player.

The Stuart Kings changed Newmarket forever. It became their holiday resort where they and their courts could relax and indulge in favourite pastimes and hobbies – hunting, gambling, cock fighting, theatre-going, entertaining and horse racing were all popular.

King James is credited with introducing horse racing into England. His son Charles, a good rider, frequently competed in races, as did many gentlemen at the time. When Charles became King in 1625 horseracing flourished here, although not quite in the form that we know today.

After the Restoration, the town and racing prospered as never before when Charles’ son, Charles II, became a frequent visitor here. The next chapter of Newmarket’s story shows that Charles II was called the “Merry Monarch” with good reason.

© Sandra Easom 2007