14th May 2025 Meeting.

“Charles II and Naughty Newmarket”

Our Speaker, John Sutton, is a retired History professor and has lived in Newmarket since 1976. He was therefore the ideal person to tell us all about Newmarket, the holiday home and playground of the late Stuart dynasty. He gave us a very entertaining talk on this East Anglian Las Vegas.

There were 2 hunting lodges in Newmarket visited by James I and Charles II as a boy. When Charles returned in the 1660s, most of the first hunting lodge had gone. He acquired the “Greyhound Inn” on the High Street and commissioned a new building which would include state rooms, a pavilion for his wife, Catherine of Braganza and a special stable for 12 fine horses. Only part of this building survives including the bedroom of Charles II.  

He paid regular visits to Newmarket to enjoy a raucous time of gambling, feasting, sport and the royal brothel. We were shown (revealing) pictures of some of the royal mistresses, Barbara Villiers, Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth, Nell Gwyn who caught the King’s eye in the theatre and La Belle Stuart who we learned, featured as Britannia on British coins. Of the many sporting activities in Newmarket, the main ones were horse racing, bowls, billiards, cock fighting, and tennis. It was the sporting capital of Britain in the late 17th century. In 1634, Charles I established the first horse race on The Heath. In October 1671, Charles II rode his horse Woodcock in a race against his son, the Duke of Monmouth – and won! At that time, races took place between 2 horses only.

We learnt a great deal about the life and times of the Merry Monarch in his holiday home of Newmarket.

Announcements

  1. The July outing will be to the West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village on Friday 18th July leaving Sudbury Bus Station at 9am.
  2. Our August meeting will once again NOT be at The Granary – we will be travelling to Bury St Edmunds with bus passes or car sharing. We will have a guided tour of the ancient Guildhall – the oldest civic building in England. The Guildhall has been a hub for the community of Bury St Edmunds since the 1220s. It has played a crucial role in the town’s story, fighting for the rights of the common people and witnessing events that changed the course of British history. More details at the June meeting.

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