No.26-28 High Street

Pub History

Notes

• The Crown appears on the 1861 census as an existing pub with James Bartholomew as publican, who stayed there until at least 1871, after which he moved to the White Lion Inn.
  
  
• Annie Bloss (b. 1835 Bohemia, Germany) is seen on both the 1881 & 1891 census'. On the latter the pub is listed as the Crown Hotel.
  The hotel was modified by her in 1894 and son Frederick became Publican soon after, Annie retired to a house in Lisburn Road, built 1895.
  Frederick died 6th Jan 1902 aged only 33.
  
  
  
• Referring to the postcard picture shown in the Photos section below; 'Crown from High Street c.1911'- as seen on the 1911 census for the Crown Hotel the F.J. Whitehurst Proprietor is Frances James Whitehurst (b. 1862 Gillingham, Kent) - so this pretty much dates the picture as he was living in London in 1901 and the absence of any reference to cars on the postcard makes this quite early in the 20th c., plus Bailey & Tebbutt's brewery was bought by Greene King in 1925 (see link below).
  http://www.cambridge-camra.org.uk/ale/191/past.html
  
  The barns that can be seen at the back of the crown yard do look pretty much the same as those seen in the photo of 'The Crown Yard Bus Terminus c. 1950s', but on this later photo the tidy windows have been replaced by rough shutters.
  
  
• The 'Crown' is shown on Chapman's maps of Newmarket.
  
  

• Chapman's Map of Newmarket 1787

  
  

• The Crown Milestone - the Centre of Newmarket

• Crown Mile Post 1901



• Originally at side of one of the gates at the entrance on the High Street into the Crown Yard there was a milestone (post) - you can just about see it in the 1911 photo of the Crown shown below. The above 1901 map shows the Crown Hotel highlighted in yellow and the label of the milestone; M.S. highlighted in pink. These milestones were used to measure and identify the formal distance between towns.
  
  As detailed in the NLHS book 'A Racing Lad Steps Out' (available from Amazon.co.uk) about the local character Billy Blythe, in the 1890s, as part of the many sporting events that have occurred in Newmarket, a monthly / six-weekly walk used to be made by a visiting athlete as a challenge to walk eight miles in an hour. He would start from the Crown milestone, walk up the Bury St. Edmunds Road to the Toll Bar at the road Y-junction and then back to the Crown milestone, a distance of 2 miles. He would then continue on up the Cambridge Road to the first milestone along there and then back to the Crown again, another two miles. This trek was then repeated to complete the full eight mile hike, bets having been made on the outcome of the result.
  
  A large number of these old milestones can still be found at every mile interval along the old Cambridge Road that passes-by Bottisham. The Crown milestone is now gone (probably in the name of 'health & safety'), but it did mark the geographical centre of Newmarket.
  
  
• Moving on from the 'Crown in the Jewel' of Newmarket these milestones seem to have a further significance to Newmarket's 'Jewel in the Crown' - its racecourses ....
  .... it's all about the 'going the distance' of course .... further details about this can be found on the page about Newmarket's Racecourses.
  
  

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• Building Changes

• Suffolk Record Office, Bury St Edmunds Branch
  Newmarket Urban District Council Records
• Alterations to Crown Hotel, High St, for Mrs Annie Bloss (R.A. Came, London) EF 506/6/1/G5 Jan 1894
• House in Lisburn Rd, for Mrs Ann Bloss (Heaton & Gibb) EF 506/6/1/G6 Nov 1895
• Alterations and additions, Crown Hotel, High St, for Bailey & Tebbutt (Sidney French, Llandaff Chambers, Regent St, Cambridge) EF 506/6/1/9/197 May 1904
• Conversion of stables into garage, Crown Hotel, High St, for Bailey & Tebbutt (John Flatman) EF 506/6/1/11/252 Jul 1905
  
  
• The London architect, R. A. Came, detailed in the building changes in 1894 is Richard Adolphus Came, further details about him can be found on the page for Rous Road where he was the major architect for many of the buildings.
  
  

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• Many thanks to Tony Pringle for his information about the history of the pub and the photos 'Crown Yard 1904' & 'Crown Inn c.1900'.
  
  
• Postcards 'High St West c. 1930', 'Crown from High Street c.1911' and 'Rutland Hill and Jubilee Tower c. 1905' courtesy of Roger Newman.
  
  
• Many thanks to 'Old Newmarket' for the photos 'The Crown Hotel c. 1960s', 'The Crown Yard Bus Terminus c. 1950s' & 'Crown Hotel c.1900'.