Newmarket History

The nearby village of Exning was one of the major settlements in this area during Anglo-Saxon and Medieval times.

After Britain was hit by the plague during the 14th, 15th & 16th Centuries, the population of Exning decided to leave their homes to contain the disease and build a new settlement nearby and so Newmarket was born.

Newmarket Local History Society

King James I was the first to discover that the flat land in the area was ideal for galloping horses, and the tradition was carried on by many following English Monarchs.

Boadicea: Queen of the Iceni

In stature she was very tall,
in appearance most terrifying,
in the glance of her eye most fierce,
and her voice was harsh;
a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips;
around her neck was a large golden necklace;
and she wore a tunic of divers colours over which a thick mantle was fastened with a brooch.

Exning, being a very old place, has claimed Boudicca as one of its former inhabitants. However, some believe that this is simply a misinterpretation of the Exning name as having something to do with the Iceni tribe.

In any case why let the facts get in the way of a good story?

In AD 60 a terrible disaster occurred in Britain. Two cities were sacked, eighty thousand of the Romans and of their allies perished, and the island was lost to Rome. Moreover, all this ruin was brought upon the Romans by a woman, a fact which in itself caused them the greatest shame .

The person who was chiefly instrumental in rousing the natives and persuading them to fight the Romans, the person who was thought worthy to be their leader and who directed the conduct of the entire war, was Boadicea, a Briton woman of the royal family and possessed of greater intelligence than often belongs to women.

More Newmarket History.

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