No.38-40 High Street

Primrose House History

Primrose Cottage Stables History

Notes

• Many thanks to Tim Cartwright for his write-up about the history of Primrose House as can be seen in the shop window of Cartwright Bros.,
  a copy of which is shown below:-
  
  

• 38 & 40, HIGH STREET, NEWMARKET Primrose House (No.38) once the residence of the 5th Earl of Roseberry whose family name is Primrose. Lord Roseberry (1847-1929) was a very prominent Liberal politician and Prime Minister between 1894-95. He was also a successful race horse owner, gaining 10 Classic winners, and there was a training yard to the rear of Primrose House. In 1878 Lord Roseberry married the only daughter of another distinguished Newmarket resident Baron Meyer de Rothschild. Primrose House dates from the early 19th Century and the elegant Adams style front entrance is a reminder of the building's grand history and the building is still to the day painted in the famous Primrose colour, along with this many original features still remain within the interior and exterior of the building. Cartwright Bros started in 1929 and was based originally at Avondale in Rous Road, Newmarket. In 1950 Primrose House was owned by the Loyal Beacon Lodge of Odd Fellows Friendly Society. The Craven Club, was a members only club, based in the ground floor of Primrose House, this was where local Jockeys and Trainers having completed their morning exercising of the horses would meet regularly. At busy times, such as race days, the club would act as the social centre for Jockeys and Trainers from all the country. The club was renowned for snooker and billiards and the occasional alcoholic beverages. The bottles and crate [shown in the shop window] were found in the cellar, along with the newspaper article which has now been framed. The club gained its name from the famous Craven Meeting held in Newmarket. The club was disbanded in January 1959. In 1951 Cartwright Bros were approached to purchase Primrose House and transformed the front premises into the electrical shop as it stands today. Many of the original features including ornate cornices, ceiling roses and fixings such as marble fire places, ornate doors still remain in the building today. Cramphorns Ltd leased the opposite side of the premises for 2l years, they were formerly known as Newmarket Corn, Coal & Forage Co Ltd. The building as it stands today houses one of the longest running family business's on the High Street - "Cartwright Bros" Whilst next door Kitchin & Things remain, the office upstairs are rented to various business's. The cellar and the rear of the building are used for storage and work shop for the electrical shop. Various people have given their memories of Primrose House over the years, as shown in the pictures and letters which are on display [in the shop window]. If you have any other historic memoirs, information or family who have any details that you think may be of interest, please come on and have a chat with us. Lets keep Newmarket High Street a popular place to shop.

  
  

• Primrose House has more than its previous owners and stables as a major connection to Newmarket's racing history - the Cartwright Bros. are related to the family of the famous Dawson trainers. Details about this connection and where they fit in the family tree can be found on the page for the Dawson Family.
  
  
• 1936 Newmarket Directory:-
  Primrose House    Oddfellows Club          Marshall, Thomas (steward) Nkt. 309
  Primrose House    Womens Unionist Club     Mutum, Mrs (stewardess)
  Primrose House    Dring Est/Ins Dring, H   Est Agt /Insurance
  Primrose House    Slate & Dominy Nkt. 499 
  Primrose House    Cartwright Bros Electrical
  Primrose Cottage  Barling, Geoff B. Nkt. 282 
  
  [The numbers shown are three digit telephone numbers.]
  
  

• The Craven Club

• The Craven club moved into Primrose House from The Victoria / Carlton Hotel No. 82 High Street sometime after it was listed there in the Newmarket 1936 Directory.
  
  
• Many thanks to 'Old Newmarket' and to Denise Rogerson her submission on there of the photograph 'The Craven Club 1944' shown in the Photos section below.
  Denise's Father, Dennis is the young steward on the right,
  with Georgie Walsh, Billy Griggs sn, Capt Oakes, Sir Francis Egerton, Basil Jarvis, Henri Jelliss, Cyril Dagnell and Dennis Rogerson.
  
  Note from webmaster - my claim-to-fame regarding Primrose House is that my great-uncle, Frederick Allen, used to be the concierge at the Craven Club - looking after the gentlemen's hats & coats etc.
  
  

• WWI War Hospital Supply Depots

• WAR HOSPITAL SUPPLY DEPOTS
  A LIST OF WAR HOSPITAL SUPPLY DEPOTS ORGANIZED BY PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED KINGDOM AND ABROAD (1914-1918)
• 1358 NEWMARKET MRS E. GRAY, PRIMROSE HOUSE, HIGH STREET
  http://www.scarletfinders.co.uk/187.html
  
  

  ---

• Primrose Cottage Stables

• Photo 'Primrose Cottage Stable 1895' donated to NLHS Archive by Mr. & Mrs. Brian Wilson.
  Brian worked in the racing industry for many years and knew this yard, which was behind Primrose House ... and on the Interactive Map page you can hover over and see the original location of Primrose Cottage and the stables (just to the right of the word ARCHER in Fred Archer Way).
  
  
• Referring to this map the entrance into this stable yard from the high street is now the passageway between Cartwright's and Rutland House (QD) ...
  ... the cottage would have been in the back of Holland & Barrett and the stables would have extended forward over the mall in the new section of the Guineas Shopping Centre.
  
  

• Richard Ten Broeck

• American Richard Ten Broeck married Patricia Duncan Anderson in 1857 in Andover, Hampshire, moving into Primrose Cottage Stables soon after.
  
  

• Baron de Rothschild & Joseph Hayhoe

• Baron Meyer Amschel de Rothschild (sometimes written as Mayer) bought and rebuilt the nearby Palace House Stables between 1857 & 1860 and installed Joseph Hayhoe in the trainer's house. Joseph was Rothschild's trainer from 1855 until the Baron's death in 1874. As shown in the census, by 1871 Joseph had moved to Primrose Cottage Stables.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayer_Amschel_de_Rothschild
  
  Joseph Hayhoe died on 5th June 1881 and was superceded by his son Alfred Hayhoe who continued to train for Meyer's nephew Leopold de Rothschild at Palace House Stables.
  
  

• Earl of Rosebery & Joseph Cannon

• Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery married Baron Meyer de Rothschild's daughter Hannah and continued the training yard at Primrose Cottage.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Primrose,_5th_Earl_of_Rosebery
  
  

  Rothschild Family Tree - click picture for a larger version
  Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery - 1903	Hanna de Rothschild - Lady Primrose [click the picture above to read the full article]	Harry Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery

  For further details about the Rothschilds see the page for Charles II's palace.
  
  
• Archibald and Hannah's son Albert Edward 'Harry' Meyer Archibald Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery moved into Cleveland House in Old Station Road and can be seen living there in both the 1936 Newmarket Directory and also still there as listed in the phone books from 1971. He died on 1st May 1974 and his wife before him on 11th January 1966.
  
  
• Prior to moving to Primrose Cottage Stables Joseph Cannon had been training at Bedford Lodge Stables in Bury Road for Captain J.O. Machell.
  
  

• Basil Jarvis

• Basil Jarvis (4th from the right in the photograph 'The Craven Club 1944' in the Photos section below) was the son of the trainer William Arthur Jarvis from Waterwitch House Stables. Further details about the Jarvis family are shown on the page for the Carlton Hotel - No.82 High Street.
  
  

• Frank Curzon & Jack Watts

• Frank Curzon was a successful actor and entertainment entrepreneur. Later in life he became a very successful racehorse breeder.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Curzon
  
  
• His trainer John Evelyn (Jack) Watts was a former jockey who'd worked as a trainer for the German government stud prior to World War I, and served in that war for four years with the Suffolk Yeomanry. After the war he established a training stable, Lansdowne House, at Newmarket, and in 1922 accepted the trainer's post with Curzon.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Watts_(jockey)
  
  

• Fred Leader

• George Frederick (Fred) Leader transferred to Primrose Cottage Stables sometime around 1925 / 1926. Previously Fred had been the last trainer at Warren House, originally the training establishment of John Dawson.
  
  
• Fred and his wife were killed on their way home from a race meeting at Ascot on 13th June 1933, when their car hit a stationary lorry on the brow of a hill near Knebworth:-
  
  

  The Evening Post, Wellington, New Zealand Saturday 29th July 1933 page 7

• Further details about Fred and his family can be found on the page for the Leader Family.
  
  

• Frank & Geoff Barling

• Racehorse trainer Francis William Bonnor (Frank) Barling from Ross in Herefordshire, trained for shipping magnate Lord Glanely (1st Baron Glanely) at Falmouth House in 1919. In 1925 & 1926 he was at La Grange stables in Fordham Road. He was declared bankrupt in 1931 at which time he was running Kremlin House stables in Newmarket and Manor Farm stables in Snailwell.
  
  He also ran a public stable at Primrose Cottage, which he handed to his son Geoffrey Bonnor Barling in 1932. Frank died in Newmarket on 17th April 1935.
  
  Frank had the impressive house Amberley built in Bury Road - No.22, and can be seen living there in the 1926 Newmarket Street Directory, though of course after his bankruptcy in 1931 the house had to be sold.
  
  

  Amberley - No.22 Bury Road

• Barlings Court sheltered housing, which is now in Fred Archer Way is named after the Barlings; as it stands on the land that was previously part of their Primrose Cottage stables.
  
  

  ---

• On Chapman's maps of Newmarket of 1768 & 1787 (below) the area of this shop and No.42 High Street is shown as the White Horse pub:-
  
  

  Chapman's Map of Newmarket 1787

  Chapman's Map of Newmarket 1768

  
  

  ---

• English Heritage Listed Building Details:-
  http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-275655-cramphorns-and-cartwrights-newmarket-suf
  
  

Cramphorns and Cartwrights, Newmarket Grade: II Date Listed: 10 March 1970 English Heritage Building ID: 275655



• Many thanks to Tony Pringle for his photo 'Primrose House c.1930'.
  
  
• Many thanks to 'Old Newmarket' for the photos 'Primrose House c.1930s' and 'Harry Dring Advertisement 1950s'.
  
  
• Photo 'Newmarket at War' by kind permission of the Newmarket Journal and the Newmarket Memories Facebook page.