Royal Newmarket: The Story of Two Royal Palaces

Since February 1605 when James I made his first visit to the town - then described as a 'poor little village' - Newmarket had become a resort of kings. The crucial event in this remarkable transformation in Newmarket's fortunes was the construction of a royal hunting lodge at the western end of its High Street, a building operation which took place in two phases, between 1607-10 and 1614-20 respectively. The royal architect, Inigo Jones, was involved in the second phase of the palace-building programme and his most important commission was the erection of a splendid house Prince of Wales - the future Charles I - known as the Prince's Lodging. Under the first two Stuart Kings this small palace witnessed several notable events of which the most important was Charles I's rejection of the parliamentary militia bill in March 1642 which provoked the outbreak of the Civil War a few months later. After the King's defeat he was brought prisoner here by the New Model Army in June 1647 and, following his subsequent execution in January 1649, the royal residence was mostly swept away in an orgy of iconoclastic vandalism.

With the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 a new regal edifice was constructed, not on the old site but further along Newmarket High Street. Built for Charles II by the relatively unknown gentleman-architect William Samwell in the years 1669-1671 this, too, was an unpretentious house; but nevertheless whenever the Merry Monarch moved his court there Newmarket became the capital of England in all but name. Stirring national events also punctuated the life of this second palace, perhaps the most memorable being the dynastic marriage arranged here between William of Orange and Mary Stuart in October 1677, a match which was to have momentous consequences for the country in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. William III and Queen Anne made regularly visits to Charles II's palace between 1689 and 1707 and they, too, had an impact on its structure. All these developments will be explored in depth in this richly illustrated course.

Dr Andrew Lacey
November 2011

Close

Home