Discover Newmarket: racing history and heritage

Newmarket is closely linked to the history of horse racing. Its medieval market history, listed buildings and visits centred on horses give the town other points of interest. When planning a trip, you can consider these questions separately: which historical developments would you like to learn about, which tour interests you, and which transport connection suits your journey?

Horse racing: history and named features

Newmarket is considered the place where horse racing began about three and a half centuries ago and from which it spread around the world. Newmarket’s famous Gallops cover 2,500 acres of training grounds. Another specifically named feature is the July Course: its one-mile straight is called The Bunbury Mile. The town’s connections therefore range from the historical origins of racing and the extensive training grounds to a single section of a racecourse.

Medieval market history and the Church of St Mary

Newmarket’s medieval market charter was among the earliest granted in Suffolk. A royal fair charter followed in 1223. This sequence gives the market’s history a clear timeframe: a royal charter for a fair followed the medieval market charter.

The Church of St Mary is a Grade II* listed building. The church also hosts the Newmarket Jigsaw Festival and the British Jigsaw Championships every June. Here, a permanent feature of the historic building sits alongside an annual event on the calendar.

Palace House and the National Horseracing Museum

Palace House is part of Newmarket’s National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art. The National Horseracing Museum is located on a five-acre site in the heart of Newmarket, Suffolk. The site also includes the Packard Galleries of British Sporting Art at Palace House.

Palace House offers a way to trace the town’s history further back: it stands on the site of a palace that Charles II had built in 1671 for his twice-yearly visits to Newmarket. A historic structural feature has also been preserved at the Palace House Stables. The listed Trainer’s House contains a central wall considered to be the only surviving part of a large 17th-century stable.

Visits centred on racehorses

The daily Meet the Horses sessions at the National Horseracing Museum cover the retraining and aftercare of racehorses and are included in general admission. Check the current session time before your visit. The National Stud offers a different insight: it is the only thoroughbred stud in the United Kingdom that offers tours to the general public.

A tour of The National Stud lasts about 90 minutes and includes sections by coach and on foot. It includes meeting visiting mares and their foals. The tour format may vary by season; what you see also depends on the time of year and the stud’s activities. The two offerings therefore have different focuses: the museum sessions cover retraining and aftercare, while the stud tour combines insights into the stud with a coach ride and walks.

Heath and cycling route

Devil’s Dyke is located on Newmarket Heath. This historic feature is of Anglo-Saxon origin and dates to the 7th century AD, around the 600s. The Jockey’s Trail is a cycling route that starts in Newmarket.

Local speciality and getting there

Newmarket sausages are a local speciality that residents have enjoyed for a long time. For travel to and from the town, Newmarket railway station offers regular train services to Cambridge in the west and Ipswich in the east. The bus station is served by various local bus routes, with connections to Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds. Check current train and bus timetables before travelling.

Discover more destinations: Hollesley, West Row, Framlingham, Risby, Fressingfield, Clare, Kessingland, Bury Saint Edmunds

For the regional travel overview: Suffolk.