Newmarket railway station, in its current position, is situated just under half a mile (800 yards or c. 710m) south of the site of the original first Newmarket station, which was built in 1848 near All Saints, and no longer exists. The two images below show a view of the old 1902 station buildings as seen from the current platform looking westwards, and a view of the current platform looking eastwards (the current station is just a short unmanned rail stop platform with simple shelters, more akin to a bus stop for Sprinter trains).
At the end of Queen Victoria's reign the existing station at All Saints could not cope with increased demand and so plans were drawn up for a new station half a mile south. The imposing new station, together with a new road - The Avenue - as a connection to High Street, opened on 7 April 1902 and was funded by the local millionaire racehorse owner Sir Harry McCalmont, who saw the great benefit to the Newmarket racing industry.
The station had a large wide forecourt with ample space for many horse-drawn carriages which plied for hire to take passengers to the nearby racecourse or the town.
The 'new station' had limited goods and parcels facilities so the old terminus (the 1848 All Saints Station) was kept running as the town's goods station.
The original Edwardian red brick buildings (at what came to be called locally the 'New Station') were sold by Network Rail, and are now occupied by a private company. Note the similarites and differences in the 'then' and 'now' photos!
This year (2015), a group called Newmarket Vision which was partially composed of local councillors, suggested that the building of a new Newmarket railway station is a key priority for improving transport and access in the town, so we imagine it is a case of 'watch this space'!
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