Use the blue arrows <> on the left & right to go to the next-door shops
Click HERE to see photos of this shop


No.50-56 High Street

50-52 Tindalls Stationers
54-56 Tindalls News and Books (Hendersons Newsagents)

Shop History

1992 -

Tindalls: Managing Director - Peter Drayton (worked at shop since 1974)

12th June 1953

No.50:- Tindall's
No.52:- Tindall's
No.54:- Lindum House (behind bookshop)
No.56:- Newmarket Upholstery Co. (behind stationers)
- Newmarket UDC re-numbering map

1926

Tindall & Son, Booksellers, Printers, Stationers, High Street - Newmarket Street Directory

1925

Tindall & Son, printers & stationers, High Street - Nkt. 324 - Kelly's Directory

2nd April 1911

Alfred Tindall - The Library - Census

1909 / 1910

Tindall & Co., Printers, Stationers, Newsagents Nkt.71 - Phone Book

1906

Tindall & Co.

1901

'no-one-at-home' - Census

1901

Tindall & Co., High Street, Account-Book Manufacturers, Booksellers, Printers & Stationers
- Eastern Counties of England Directory

1891

George Tindall: Bookseller & Stationer - Census

1887 -

Tindalls

Notes

  • Tindalls was established in 1887 as a printers. Over the years the business changed moving into bookselling and then stationery.
    As recently as 1992 the company had just one store in Newmarket, since then it has grown rapidly and now has a successful Commercial Division supplying stationery direct to businesses, stores in Cambridge, Ely and St Ives, and a central warehousing operation.

    The Racing Post (London, England)
    Date: Sep 28, 2004

    GEOFFREY TINDALL, for decades the man at the helm of the famous racing bookshop in Newmarket that bears his surname has died, writes Lee Mottershead.

    Tindall died suddenly at home on Friday, aged 73, having retired 12 years earlier from the day-to-day running of the famous shop, first established by his great-grandfather.

    Paying tribute to Tindall, who began working at the shop in the mid-1950s and lived in the village of Chedburgh, close to Newmarket, Tindalls managing director Peter Drayton said: 'Geoffrey Tindall was an old gent, and the sort of man you don't really come across any more.

    'He was a very quiet man and a very good businessman, who always carried with him good business and life ethics and the type of person who would never do anybody else down.'

  • 1891 Census - George Tindall - Bookseller & Stationer - b. 1833 Huddersfield
    He started career as letter press printer then a Commercial Traveller in Stationery, before settling in Newmarket in 1887 and opening his shop in Newmarket High Street.
    His son Alfred Tindall was shown as a Printers Manager & Newspaper Reporter in Newmarket on the 1891 census, but had moved to Chelmsford High Street by the 1901 census as a Bookseller and Stationer.
    George Tindall died in 1895 and on the 1901 census there's 'no-one-at-home' at the shop in Newmarket.
    By the 1911 census Alfred had returned to Newmarket and had moved into the shop in the high street, which was referred to as 'The Library'.

  • Tindall Family


  • Here's a short resumé of the recent history of the shop as decribed by the present Manager of Tindalls, Peter Drayton:-

    When Geoffrey's grandfather started in the High Street he was printing sheet music in the front room of his house.
    This proved successful and he expanded into printing other materials, opening the printworks in the building at the rear of the shop.
    At that time the shop occupied just the house section of the site at the front, with a large yard at the rear and a passage between the house and the next-door Hammond's bank that provided access to the printworks from the High Street.

    This layout was still in existence when Peter started working at Tindalls as a trainee manager in 1974.
    By then the newsagents occupied the left-hand unit, with a large opening half-way down inside into the stationers in what was originally Alfred's house.
    In 1977 Geoffrey extended both parts of the shops into the rear yard, and then in 1986 Lloyds Bank next door requested use of part of the yard as rear access to the bank. Geoffrey used the money from this sale to build the second rear extension to the present-day shop outline.

    One of the reasons for the above detailed building extensions is that the Rookery shopping centre was constructed in 1973 and this allowed convenient customer access into the rear of the shop.

    In 1992 the newsagents and booksellers were sold and this part of the site leased to StopsShops.
    Peter took over as manager of Tindalls Stationers.
    The opening between the two shops had become smaller by then but was left accessible for a short time. Customer payment complications between the two businesses led to the closing of this opening and the creation of the present-day rear entrance into the bookshop.
    Hendersons have subsequently taken over the lease of Tindalls Newsagents from StopShops.

    At one time in the area of the first extension of the newsagents Tindalls also sold toys, but this was later replaced by extending the greeting cards section.

    When StopShops took over the newsagents they needed their own office space and they extended into the passageway between the shop and Barclays bank. Planning limitations restricted the extension from coming all the way to the pavement due to bank security concerns.

  • View over Tindall's roof taken from the rear of the main building -
    The flat roof in the foreground is the first extension
    and the next raised section is the second extension.
    The windowed building is the original printworks
    and the gable end behind it is the Old Bank House that was part of Hammond's Bank next door.
    View over the roof of Tindall's Newsagents -
    The flat roof in the centre is the first extension
    and that on the right is the second extension.

  • Newmarket's Secret tunnels

  • Kings Charles I, II and James I were habitual visitors to the town, with the remains of Charles II's palace still evident in Palace Street. A nearby house in Palace Street is known as Nell Gwynne's House, as it's said Charles II had it built specially for his mistress.

    Tradition says that he had a tunnel built between the two houses for clandestine visits to Nell, the tunnel is said to still exist beneath the Rutland Arms Hotel.

    Another tunnel is alleged to run to the site of the king's former 'palace' from the 19th century Cadogan Hotel in Fordham Road.

    Tindalls shop also has blocked-up tunnels running to both Nell Gwynne's House and the Rutland Arms Hotel - with the entrance being beneath the main area of the shop, consisting of a staircase leading to a bricked-up door.

    Charles II supposedly also used a secret tunnel to visit the Bushel Inn, where the cellars are said to contain evidence of a cock-pit there (the Royal Cock Pit certainly still existed in 1767, when several battles were fought there, recorded in 1866 by John Glyde), and a blocked-up doorway in the cellar is said to be evidence of the tunnel.


  • Bricked-up position of the secret tunnel in Tindall's basement
    This wall directly faces the Rutland Hotel and Nell Gwynne's House


  • Building Changes

  • Planning Application - F/74/1342
    50 High Street Newmarket Suffolk
    Application Registered 20-08-1974
    Alterations and extension to shop, provision of new storage area and construction of accesses at rear.

  • Planning Application - F/77/187
    50 High Street Newmarket Suffolk
    Application Registered 24-03-1977
    New shop front.

  • Planning Application - F/77/214
    52 High Street Newmarket Suffolk
    Application Registered 29-04-1977
    Shop extension to private new shop area stores area ladies and gents toilets as amended by letter dated 21st June 1977 and drawing No 5 received on 23rd June 1977.

  • Planning Application - F/86/898
    56 High Street Newmarket Suffolk
    Application Registered 12-12-1986
    Rear store extension as completed by drawings 29/01/87.

  • Planning Application - F/90/380
    Tindall And Son High Street Newmarket Suffolk
    Application Registered 27-06-1990
    Single storey rear extension to provide 2 wcs as completed by letter received 20/07/1990.

  • Planning Application - F/90/716
    50 High Street Newmarket Suffolk
    Application Registered 21-11-1990
    1st floor office side extension including access stairs.

  • Planning Application - F/95/205
    50 High Street Newmarket Suffolk
    Application Registered 07-04-1995
    Replacement of doorway with shop window.

  • Planning Application - F/2003/0266/FUL
    50 - 52 High Street Newmarket
    Application Registered 25-04-2003
    Erection of external fire escape staircase from second floor.


  • Many thanks to Tony Pringle for the photo 'Tindalls c.1901' - the newsagent's side of the shop can be seen boarded-up (so possibly this photo was taken sometime around 1901, as per the census details above), with a bay window/door in front of where the stationers is now ... someone can be seen looking inside the door.

  • Postcard and enlargement courtesy of Roger Newman - 'Tindalls Nov. 1906'.

  • Many thanks to 'Old Newmarket' for the photos 'Tindall and Son Advertisment 1959', 'Tindalls c. 1920s' and 'Tindalls c.1910' - the latter shows that by 1910 the shop was open again, with its awning fully extended over the pavement ... the bay window/door in front of the stationers side is still evident.

Photos


No.50-56 High Street


Tindall and Son Advertisment 1959


Tindalls c.1920s


Tindalls c.1910


Tindalls Nov. 1906


Tindalls Nov. 1906


Tindalls c.1901