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WHITE HART


Location:- High Street



Brewery or Owner:- currently Marston's



The White Hart should not be confused with The Hart, which was next door to the Rutland Arms Hotel.
Inns of Suffolk (1946) makes the claim of this being the oldest Inn in Newmarket, but that now seems unlikely. The book says it existed for sure in 1629 and was probably rebuilt after the fire of 1683. There are several premises still in existence that this website can document as at least that age. In fact it gets no mention in Peter May's book "The Changing Face of Newmarket 1600-1760"

One snag about researching these sort of premises is that the newspaper articles are extremely numerous due to the hotels being used a great deal for coaching stops and for auctions and inquests, hence there may well be adverts for a sale over several weeks in several newspapers. In the case of the White Hart that entailed close on 3,000 articles. of which only a few were of use for this project.
To add to the confusion, it appears that just about every other village around the town had at one time had a "White Hart". It is interesting to see that the Chennell name, once removed from the hotel/brewery appears with a partner in an auctioneers, perhaps they worked out which profession was the more profitable.

There are several comments about the hotel at the time of the bombing in the Newmarket Local History Society's book "One day in February". This is a very comprehensive account of the bombing raid which destroyed the White Hart. Out of print at present (2023), plans are afoot for a reprint. It being a war time incident, very little was mentioned in the Press. Details of the licence holders after the bombing are hazy, but would have been protection orders, for a variety of staff of Trust Houses Ltd or holders of the licence for the "Tap".. Some parts of the premises were still useable, mainly the Club Room, Ball Room and the "Tap". Shortly after the war the ball room was converted into a small theatre (The White Hart Playhouse) by and for the local Operatic and Dramatic Society


By 1951 pressure was mounting regarding the need to remove the eyesore from the High Street, to demolish the remains of the White Hart and rebuild it. In October 1952 the Board of Trade announced they were prepared to issue a re-building licence. Planning permission was eventually granted in September 1953. Building took place in 1955-56 and the official re-opening was 14th February 1956. The new Ball Room was opened in November that year. The White Hart was another business with a "Tap". This bar was close to the end of the yard on the boundary with Church Lane, sadly now demolished.
The photograph of the men in the brewery yard must have been posed as no right minded brewery worker would stand with the rope round behind him, and also unless the cask was empty, the man in the cellar was risking life and limb, since the cask would contain 36 gallons of beer. If full it would certainly have meant two men on the rope "upstairs" and the man in the cellar keeping well out of the way.
A new 10 bedroom wing was added in 1963. Most of the brewery building in the yard have been replaced over the years, having survived the bombing, they did not survive economic circumstances in the 60's and 70's

click here to go to the Newmarket Shops website for more details

and

click here to go to the White Hart website for more details

KNOWN LICENSING HISTORY
<
Year Licensee Owner source
1778 Dec Thomas Turner bankrupt " " Cambridge Chronicle and Journal
1788 Ralph Golding Bury & Norwich Post
1792 Ralph Golding (died Nov.) " "
1792 Elizabeth Golding (Mrs) (widow of previous) " "
1812 " " up for rent " "
1815 " " (died 1819) " "
1819 Thomas Golding (son of previous) "
1821 Thomas Golding up for sale - sold 1823 Cambridge Chronicle & Journal
1823 James Rickards Pigot
1826 Charles Worley Cambridge Chronicle & Journal
1834 Charles Bottom "
1841 " " census
1861 " " census
1864 Thomas Ekin (nephew of previous)(died 1867) Cambridge Chronicle & Journal
1868 Benjamin Chennell Benjamin Chennell Bury & Norwich Post
1871 " " census
1877 Benjamin Chennell to Robert Layton " " Bury & Norwich Post
1881 Robert Layton " " census
1883 Benjamin Chennell " " Bury Free Press
1891 Gertrude Barnes (housekeeper) " " census
1892 Frederick Chennell Kelly
1897 Star Brewery, Cambridge Kelly
1900 Sept William Harvey Varrow (ex Rising Sun) " " Cambridge Independent Press
1901 William Varrow (bankrupt 1904) " " newmarket Journal
1903 Nov George King (for brewery) " " Newmarket Journal
1904 Apr Howard Cox (Receiver) Newmarket Journal
1904 Apr Mr E Marston (for brewery) Newmarket Journal
1904 Miss S.A.Thurston (manageress) Newmarket Journal
1908 Mar 31 Mrs Mary Ann Jupp (died 17 Feb 1912 Newmarket Journal
1912 Edwin Jupp (husband of above) " " " "
1916 " " fined &2 - black out offence Bury Free Press
1920 " " fined &35 - over charging Cambridge Daily News
1921 May Miss Charlotte.M.Brown Newmarket Journal
1929 Aug 20 Thomas Denny (for Trust House Ltd) Newmarket Journal
1934 Thomas Brooks Trust House Ltd " "
1935 May 7 Thomas Denny (for Trust House Ltd Newmarket Journal
1939 F.Curtis Jones Newmarket Journal
1939 James Crowe White Hart TAP 1939 register
1941 Feb 18 destroyed in bombing
1941 Mar 18 Thomas Denny (Trust Houses Ltd Newmarket Journal
1941 Mar 18 Harry Kempton Newmarket Journal
1941 May 31 George William Westrope Newmarket Journal
1956 Feb 14 Mr. E.H. Jones official re-opening Newmarket Journal
1957 Jun Mr. J.M.Ross temp manager Newmarket Journal
1957 Sep Mr. D.Blackwell Newmarket Journal
1967 Jun Mr.D. Blackwell Newmarket Journal
1967 Jun Mr P.J. Briscoe-Smith Newmarket Journal
1968 Aug Mr. Kevin Whitworth-Walker Newmarket Journal
1971 Mar Mr. Costa Milana Trust House Forte Newmarket Journal
1978 Mr. R W Jobson Newmarket Journal
1984 Mr. R W Jobson Newmarket Journal
1990 Mr. Lewis Newmarket Journal
1990 Oct new manager Newmarket Journal
1997 May Paul Walker Wolverhampton and Dudley Brewery Newmarket Journal
1998 Oct Wesley Sheldon Newmarket Journal
1999 Dec Wesley Sheldon Newmarket Journal
2002 Ian Holt Marston's plc Newmarket Journal
2005 Nov 24 Ian Holt Marston's plc licensing register
2005 Nov 24 Dylan Robert Lane " " " "
2015 Aug 17 Joshua Peter Duigan " " " "
2017 Nov 15 Steven William King " " " "
2018 Jan 24 Dylan Robert Lane " " " "
There is some confusion over the licence holders. The Newmarket Journal of 11 May 1961, recording the death of George Webb of Fordham states that he had been the landlord of the White Hart Newmarket in the past, for 20 years. This may another case of the "Tap" having a different licensee to the main hotel, since no mention of George Webb in relation to the White Hart had been seen previously. There was however a Webb as licensee at the White Hart, Fordham for some years.












c1890s




c1900 from the tower of St Mary's Church




1920's



c1925..thanks to https://www.facebook.com/OldNewmarket/photos/



1930's..thanks to https://www.facebook.com/OldNewmarket/photos/









Then and now..thanks to Mike Mingay




1950's not long after re-opening




2019


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