Newmarket Palace

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Newmarket Palace
HomeofHorseracing.jpg
Palace House, now part of the National Horseracing Museum
General information
Type Royal Palace
Architectural style Italianate (later additions)
Location Newmarket, Suffolk, England
Current tenants National Horseracing Museum
Construction started1606
Completed1610
Renovated1619 (Inigo Jones lodgings), 1668 (Charles II rebuild)
Demolished1857 (except Palace House)
Client James VI and I
OwnerOriginally the Crown; later Rothschild family
Design and construction
Architect(s) Simon Basil, Inigo Jones, William Samwell


Newmarket Palace could refer to one of three Royal Palaces [1] in Newmarket, Suffolk one of which is now the location of the National Horseracing Museum.

James I first visited Newmarket on 26 February 1605, [2] describing it as a "poor little village", staying at an inn called the Griffin which he bought. [3] From 1606 to 1610 he built a palace complex on the site covering 1 acre (4,000 square metres) of land from the High Street to All Saints' churchyard, [4] establishing the town as a royal resort and a horseracing town. The first palace building suffered from subsidence and sank on one side when King James was in residence in March 1613. [5] [6] Simon Basil was commissioned to build new lodgings for the King. In 1619 Inigo Jones built lodgings for the Prince of Wales, [4] a three storey Italianate design. [7]

In 1642 the palace was where Charles I met a parliamentary deputation in Newmarket that demanded his surrender of the armed forces. "By God not for an hour", Charles replied, "You have asked such of me that was never asked of a King!" This effectively started the English Civil War. In early June 1647, Charles was captured and was placed under house arrest in the palace while the whole of Cromwell's New Model Army kept guard over the town.

A survey in 1649 showed that the palace was in disrepair. The following year, the palace was sold to John Okey (one of the regicides), who demolished most of the buildings. [4]

Between 1666 and 1685, Charles II often visited Newmarket. In 1668, he commissioned William Samwell to build a new palace on the High Street (on the site of the present United Reformed Church). However, in 1670, John Evelyn said that the palace was "meane enough, and hardly capable for a hunting house, let alone a royal palace!" In October 1677.

In 1791 the George IV, then Prince of Wales was involved in a betting scandal [8] [9] [10] meaning that the prince foreswore racing, [11] sold his stable and never returned to Newmarket. [9] [12]

Queen Victoria sold the property to Mayer Amschel de Rothschild in 1857 [13] and the original palace was demolished, apart from Palace House. [4] The stables of Charles II on the opposite side of Palace Street were also demolished to make way for the Trainer's House and new stables called the King's Yard Stables.

References

  1. "Charles II Palace". Newmarket Shops. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  2. "James I & Charles I Palace". Newmarket Shops. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  3. "Newmarket". Royal Palaces. Retrieved 30 September 2025.{{cite web}}: Text "An Encyclopedia of British Royal Palaces and Royal Builders" ignored (help); Text "Royal Palaces" ignored (help)
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Oliver Cromwell – Cromwell Britain – Newmarket". www.olivercromwell.org.
  5. Elizabeth McClure Thomson, The Chamberlain Letters (London, 1966), p. 126.
  6. John Philip Hore, The History of Newmarket: And the Annals of the Turf, 1 (London: Baily, 1886), p. 163.
  7. Thurley, Simon (2021). Palaces of the Revolution, Life, Death & Art at the Stuart Court. Collins. pp. 42–46.
  8. Mortimer, Roger; Onslow, Richard; Willett, Peter (1978). Biographical Encyclopedia of British Flat Racing. Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN   978-0-354-08536-6.
  9. 1 2 George, Mary Dorothy (1935). Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires Preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum. British Museum.
  10. "History of Flat Racing – QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame". Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  11. "Escape". Bloodlines.net . Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  12. Setterfield, Ray. "Prince of Wales Gallops Out of Horseracing After Scandal". On This Day . Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  13. "The Rothschild Family: Palace House, Newmarket, Suffolk". The Rothschild Archive. Retrieved 14 February 2024.