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Newmarket

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Great
Britain

                  Newmarket

   Image:dot4gb.svg
                  Statistics
   Population:          14,995 (2001 Census)
               Ordnance Survey
   OS grid reference:   TL645636
                Administration
   District:            Forest Heath
   Shire county:        Suffolk
   Region:              East of England
   Constituent country: England
   Sovereign state:     United Kingdom
                    Other
   Ceremonial county:   Suffolk
   Historic county:     Suffolk
                   Services
   Police force:        Suffolk Constabulary
   Fire and rescue:     {{{Fire}}}
   Ambulance:           East of England
          Post office and telephone
   Post town:           NEWMARKET
   Postal district:     CB8
   Dialling code:       01638
                   Politics
   UK Parliament:       West Suffolk
   European Parliament: East of England

   Newmarket is a market town in the English county of Suffolk,
   approximately 65 miles (105 kilometres) north of London, which has
   grown and become famous because of its connection with race horses and
   racing.

Racing

   Racing at Newmarket has been dated as far back as 1174, making it the
   earliest known racing venue of post-classical times. King James I
   (reigned 1603 - 1625) greatly increased the popularity of horse racing
   there, and King Charles I followed this by inaugurating the first cup
   race in 1634. In 1967 Queen Elizabeth II opened The National Stud, a
   breeding centre for thoroughbred horses. The town is also home to
   Tattersalls, the famous bloodstock auctioneers whose sales are attended
   by big names in the racing business. The town also has a Horse Racing
   Museum and an Equine Centre for horse health.

   The town has special horse routes so the horses can reach the gallops
   safely and many training establishments occupied by top trainers. More
   than 2,500 race horses inhabit Newmarket. By comparison, the human
   population is of the order of 15,000 and it is estimated that one in
   four jobs are connected to horseracing in one way or another. 'The
   gallops' is a hill overlooking the town and used as a training run to
   improve the horses' workload when training. This and the surrounding
   heath is chalk downland and has special birds and animals only suited
   to this terrain. It is also a very historical area with the remains of
   6th century living to be found. This hill is part of the chalk
   formation the Newmarket Ridge.

   Most of the Newmarket-based racing stables are situated in the centre
   of the town, where they can easily access the gallops. Outside the town
   the land-use is dominated by thoroughbred breeding, studs occupying
   large areas in every direction. Around 70 licensed trainers and more
   than 60 stud farms operate in and around Newmarket. Dalham Hall Stud
   (the headquarters of Darley), Cheveley Park Stud and Banstead Manor
   Stud (Headquarters of Juddmonte Farms) are well-known examples all
   which can be found in the village of Cheveley, three miles from
   Newmarket.
   Local celebrity jockey Frankie Dettori in the parade ring at Newmarket
   after riding in the 2005 2000 Guineas.
   Enlarge
   Local celebrity jockey Frankie Dettori in the parade ring at Newmarket
   after riding in the 2005 2000 Guineas.

   The town has two race courses situated on Newmarket Heath, these are
   the Rowley Mile and the July Course. The two courses are separated by
   the Devil's Dyke. This large earthwork starts in neighbouring
   Woodditton (sometimes spelt as Wood Ditton) and ends in Reach, a
   distance of over 8 miles.

Transport

   Newmarket has a station on the Cambridge - Bury St. Edmunds - Ipswich
   rail line, formerly belonging to the Great Eastern Railway (later part
   of the LNER). Newmarket's first railway was a line opened in 1848,
   known as the Newmarket Railway, branching off the London - Cambridge
   main line at Great Chesterford and running about 15 miles in a north
   easterly directon, ending at an attractive terminus in Newmarket, and
   with intermediate stations at Bourn Bridge, Balsham Road and Six Mile
   Bottom. Just three years later the first nine miles or so of this line,
   the stretch from Great Chesterford to Six Mile Bottom, was superseded
   by a more viable section linking Six Mile Bottom directly with
   Cambridge, and so the Great Chesterford - Six Mile Bottom section
   closed in 1851, one of the earliest closures in British railway history
   (the former Bourn Bridge station is believed to have been partly
   incorporated into a public house just across the road from a station
   opened later on another line - Pampisford, on the now-closed Cambridge
   - Haverhill - Sudbury route). With the development of other lines the
   Newmarket terminus was replaced by the present through station. A short
   distance to the north east is the 1,100 yard Warren Hill tunnel.

Geography

   The area of Suffolk containing Newmarket is nearly an exclave, with
   only a narrow strip of territory linking it to the rest of the county.
   Historically the town was split with one parish - St Mary - in Suffolk,
   and the other - All Saints - in Cambridgeshire. The Local Government
   Act 1888 made the entirety of Newmarket urban sanitary district part of
   the administrative county of West Suffolk.

   The 1972 Local Government Bill as originally proposed would have
   transferred the town (and Haverhill) to Cambridgeshire. The Local
   Government Commission for England had suggested in the 1960s that the
   border around Newmarket also be altered, in West Suffolk's favour.
   Newmarket Urban District Council supported the move to Cambridgeshire,
   but ultimately the government decided to withdraw this proposal and
   keep the existing boundary, despite intense lobbying from the UDC.

Miscellany

     * From 1808 to 1814 Newmarket hosted a station in the shutter
       telegraph chain which connected the Admiralty in London to its
       naval ships in the port of Great Yarmouth.
     * According to "The Strange Laws of Old England" by historian and
       author Nigel Cawthorne, it was against the law to blow your nose in
       the street and 'a person or persons going about the street with a
       head cold or distemper' was liable to a fine. This law was
       introduced to protect not the Newmarket citizens but the vast
       racing stock.
     * Newmarket has an amateur football team called Newmarket Town, in
       recent time the club has had successful FA Vase run (2005) and as
       of 2006 is enjoying a successful league run.

Twin towns

   Newmarket has three sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities
   International, Inc. (SCI):
     * United States Lexington, Kentucky (Note: the towns are only twinned
       through horse-racing, and beer servery)
     * France Maisons-Laffitte, France
     * France Le Mesnil-le-Roi, France

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newmarket"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
