xt7jq23qvv1m https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7jq23qvv1m/data/mets.xml Hore, John Philip. 1886  books b98-53-42679586v1 English A.H. Baily, : London : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Horse racing Great Britain. Newmarket (England) History. Great Britain History Stuarts, 1603-1714. History of Newmarket  : and the annals of the turf: with memoirs and biographical notices of the habitubes of Newmarket, and the notable turfites, from the earliest times to the end of the seventeenth century (vol. 1)/ by J.P. Hore. text History of Newmarket  : and the annals of the turf: with memoirs and biographical notices of the habitubes of Newmarket, and the notable turfites, from the earliest times to the end of the seventeenth century (vol. 1)/ by J.P. Hore. 1886 2002 true xt7jq23qvv1m section xt7jq23qvv1m 



















          T H E


HISTORY OF NEWMARKET,

          AND)



THE ANNALS OF THE



TURF.

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w







F-


F-

 


T H E



IHISTORY OF NEWMARKET,

                   AND


  THE 4NNA4LS OF THE TURF.



    WITH MEMOIRS AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES
OF THE HABITUES OF NEWMARKET, AND THE NOTABLE
   TURFITES FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE
      END OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.


                    BY

               J. P. HORE.



      IV THREE VIOL UMES.


            VOL. I.
FRONI THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE DEATH
           OF JAMES I.





           LONDON:
     A. H. BAILY AND CO.,
i5, NICHOLAS LANE, CANNON STREET, E.C.
             ii886.



[All rights reserved.]

 This page in the original text is blank.

 



                 PRE FACE.



Ricii, as many of our counties are, in topographical
and historical literature, Cambridgeshire has been so
neglected in this respect that she may be termed the
Cinderella of the Shires.  Need we wonder, then,
when this important county--whose metropolis is the
seat of one of our most renowned and ancient Univer-
sities-has hitherto found no  scribe to worthily
chronicle her rural records, that an obscure hamlet
within her confines should be unnoticed by writers
upon ancient topographical subjects   Nevertheless,
this erst obscure hamlet (to use a racing phrase) is,
on " book form," four times as wicked as the infamous
towns mentioned in Genesis (which were only once
destroyed by fire), because after Newmarket became the
Metropolis of the Turf, on three several times, it was
almost reduced to ashes, and once nearly destroyed by
water, by way of a change. Surely a place enjoying such
a reputation to start with, does not deserve to languish
any longer in obscurity; and being actuated with a
desire to lift the veil which so long hid her blushes,

 

viii                  PREFA CE.

mainly accounts for the compilation of these volumes.
Whether the subject is worth the pains its production
incurred remains to be seen. It is a (very) plain un-
varnished tale, told by a sportsman, for sportsmen, who
has endeavoured throughout the work to faithfully
depict scenes of bygone days in Newmarket by re-
producing as closely as possible the characteristics and
incidents of those times as they were then portrayed.
   The same course, but in a more marked degree,
has been observed in compiling the Annals of the
Turf. " Veracity is their only ornament "-to quote
the words of a celebrated writer; " but it is an orna-
ment beyond all others in historical anecdotes." The
Annals are often crude, and sometimes may be found
unpalatable - replete with bad spelling, shocking
grammar, and wretched diction. If we want elegant
orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody, and all
the flowers of rhetoric, these will be found abounding
in the " Histories of the British Turf from the Earliest
Times to the Present Day," by James Christie Whyte
(2 vols., London, I840), and by James Rice (2 vols.,
London, 1879); but, unfortunately, the rhetoric seems
to have crowded out the historical information given
in our Annals from the earliest times to the end of the
sixteenth century; the seventeenth century is but little
better off; the eighteenth century is no more than a
poor and imperfect summary of the Racing Calendars;
and from the beginning of the nineteenth century to

 

PREFACE.



the present day, the works of those brilliant writers
abound in " historical " inaccuracies of the most flagrant
description.
   The memoirs and biographical notices of the
habi/uds of Newmarket, and of the notable Turfites
who flourished long long ago, will probably be inte-
resting to the sportsman of our own times. " Memoirs
are the materials, and often the touchstone, of history; "
-to quote our favourite author again-who very truly
adds, " And even where they descend to incidents
beneath her notice, they aid the studies of the antiquary
and moral philosopher."
   In conclusion, I must, in gratitude, tender my
thanks to the Duke of Beaufort, the Earl of Pembroke,
Edmund Tattersall, Esq., and M. Leopold de Roths-
child, for contributing the cost of the illustrations.

                                   J. P. HORE.

   NEWMARK ET',
      May, 188;.



ix

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                  CONTENTS.




                                                 i AIE
                      BOOK I.

NEWMARKET AND THE TURF IN THE EARLY AND MIDDLE
   AGES     ...   ..   .    ...   ...  ...   ...  I


                     BOOK LI.

FROM THE ACCESSION OF HENRY VIII. TO THE DEATH OF
   ELIZABETH...   ...  ...  ...   ...  ...   ... 58


                     BOOK III.

ROYAL SOJOURNS AT NEWMARKET. JAMES I. I605-i614 ... 129


                     BOOK IV.

ROYAL SOJOURNS AT NEWMARKET. JAMES 1. i615-i625
   ( Con/inted) ...   ...  ...   ...  ...   ...I69


                     BOOK V.

MISCELLANEOUS OCCURRENCES AT NEWMARKET. i609-i625  275


                     BOOK VI.

THE ANNALS OF THE TURF IN THE REIGN OF JAMES I.
   i605-i625     ...   ...  ...  ...   ...  ... 326

 This page in the original text is blank.

 



THE HISTORY OF NEWMARKET,

                             AND

     THE ANNALS OF THE TURF.



                        BOOK I.

    NEWMARKET AND THE TURF IN TILE EARLY AND
                       MIDDLE AGES.

Ancient British settlements in the vicinity of Newmarket-The Tumuli-
   Cinerary and other Celtic remains found therein-The Iceni race
   -Brief account of them by the Roman historians-Enter into an
   alliance with the Romans-Revolt under Ostorius-The league
   between Prasutagus and the Emperor-Tyranny of the Romans-
   Revolt of the Iceni under Queen Boadicea-Obtain a temporary
   victory-Their subsequent defeat by the Romans-Treatment of the
   Iceni after the conquest-The Roman-British coins-Those stamped
   with the figure of a horse-Peculiar to the Iceni race-Probable
   celebrity of their horses-Taxed by the Romans-Exportation of
   British horses to Rome-The Devil's Ditch-Brief survey and
   description of the structure-Probabilities as to its origin and objects
   -Newmarket and its vicinity during the Anglo-Saxon era-Royal
   residents at Exning-The East-Anglican sovereigns-St. Etheidreda
   -The origin of horse-racing in England-Introduced by the Romans
   -The primitive racehorse Its Eastern descent-The Spanish
   Legion-Their racehorses-Training difficulties during the Roman
   occupation of England-How overcome-Dissemination of Eastern
   blood-Prominent race-meetings in England under the Romans-
   The Turf during the Anglo-Saxon era-Probability of horse-races at
   Newmarket at this period-Progress of the Turf in England in the
   reigns of Henry II., Richard I., and John-The thoroughbred horses
   of the Middle Ages-Importation of Eastern blood-Examples-
   The first authentic description of a horse-race in the Middle Ages
   -Match between the Prince of Wales (Richard II.) and the Earl
   of Arundel-Owners up-The Earl's horse wins-Is bought by
   Richard II. for 4000- The Earl of Arundel-The Fathers of the
   VOL. I.                                          B

 


2THE HISTORY OF NEWMAIRKET.



   Turf in the Dark Ages-Richard II.-Superiority of English horses
   in the Middle Ages-Celebrated in song and elegy-Their farce at
   home and abroad-English Turfites on the Continent-Racing at
   Milan, Florence, Pisa-Disastrous effect of the Civil Wars on the
   Turf in Enaland in the fifteenth century-The sport abandoned-
   Dispersion of racing studs-Foreign buyers-Purchases by the Dukes
   of Ferrara and \Iantua-Presents of English horses to the Duke of
   Ferrara from the Royal Stud at Eltham-The Middle Park in the
   Middle Ages-Legislation relating to horse breeding, etc.-New-
   market in the Middle Ages-Famous for displays of equestrian
   skill--Examples-The Earl of Pemibroke-The Earl of Gloucester
   and Ierfford-The Earl of Surrey-Newmarket and the vicinity
   in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries-The town nearly destroyed
   by a deluge in 1393-Royal visit in 1453-Manorial history of New-
   market-First mention of the town in I227-The Plague at Exning
   -Alleged removal of the market at Exning to Newmarket-Grant of
   Henry III. to Richard de Argentine to have an annual fair at New-
   market-The Lords of the Manor-The Argentines-The Alingtons
   -The Butlers-Local events-Bishop Jlierkes.

AlrlHoUGH the earliest mention of Newmarket          in the
counties of Cambridge and Suffolk does not occur
until the year A.D. I227, there is evidence that the
vicinity of the Town and Heath was inhabited by the
ancient Britons in almost pre-historic times.
   Two British tumuli on the borders of Newmarket
Heath were opened in May, 1845, and in the following
year an account of the examination of them appeared
in the " Archaeological Journal " (vol. iii., p. 255).   The
first one described is in the parish of Bottisham.     ft is
placed on an elevated range of hills, forming an escarp-
ment of the chalk, which makes it conspicuous for
miles over the flat country around. This position, and
the fact that an immense quantity of charcoal was
found throughout the composition of this tumulus,

   Newmarket in Yorkshire occurs in medixeval documents, but its
precise position is unknown.  There is a town of the same name in
Flintshire, North Wales; two in Ireland, in Co. Cork and Co. Clare
and another in the United States of America.



[BOOR 1.



2

 

THE ANCIENT BRITONS.



which is of large size, measuring about ninety feet in
diameter, although the deposit was, in comparison,
very trifling, induces the supposition that it had been
used as a site for a beacon-fire, to guide the traveller
over the wild waste of fen-country which spreads in
all directions around, and hence, possibly, the name of
the " Beacon course." The excavation of this tumulus
in I845 was made from east to west, commencing from
the eastern side, in the direction of its centre, in which,
at a depth of about three feet, there was found a
cinerary urn in an inverted position,.slightly tilted on
one side, and surrounded by charcoal and burnt earth.
It was filled with charcoal, but contained only one
small fragment of bone. This vessel, which was of
the simplest manufacture, moulded by the hand, and
sun-baked, measured in height five inches, and its
diameter at the largest part was five inches and a half.
From the deep red colouring, and the general appear-
ance of the surrounding soil, it would seem that a
small hole had been first dug, charcoal and bones
burnt in it, the vase placed on the fire in an inverted
position, and the whole covered up. About ten feet
eastward of the central deposit, on the south side of
the line of excavation, and -half a foot deeper, a deposit
of fragments of bone was found apparently calcined,
but with little charcoal or burnt earth, forming a layer
not more than three inches thick, and two feet in cir-
cumference. There were several pieces of the skull,
a portion of the alveolar process, inclosing a tooth,
apparently that of a young person, pieces of the femur
and clavicle, and other fragments.  A little to the



BOOK 1.]



3

 

THE HISTORY OF NEWMARKET.



north of this spot there appeared a mass of charcoal
and burnt earth, containing nothing of interest. After
digging five or six feet deeper, operations were dis-
continued; and on the next day shafts were excavated
from the centre, so as completely to examine every
part, without any further discovery, and in every
direction charcoal was found mingled with the heap,
not in patches, but in fragments.
   The other barrow was raised in a less conspicuous
situation, about three hundred yards down the south
slope of Allington Hill, part of the same range situate
about a quarter of a mile to the south-west. Both are
marked in the Ordnance map.    An entrance was
obtained from the east-north-east, passing south-south-
west through the centre of the mound. Here a thin
layer of charcoal appeared extending many feet in
every direction. Amongst the soil thrown out, portions
of two vases, broken, probably, at a previous opening,
were found, " sufficing to prove that this had been an
early Celtic, and not Roman deposit." One was the
lip of a vase of red ware, the other a portion of a jar
of the usual coarse, unbaked pottery, of black colour.
In this tumulus were found two small rounded pieces
of hard chalk, of the lower strata, called clunch. One
was a perfect ball, smooth, measuring an inch in
diameter; the other was of the same size, ground
down in a regular manner, reducing it to a turbinated
shape.  It had been probably intended to perforate
these as beads; a specimen of the same material,
ground down in a similar manner and perforated, is in
the possession of Mr. Collings.



[BOOK I.



4

 

THE ICENI RA CE.



    It is very uncertain for what purpose the objects
designated by Mr. Collings as beads were fabricated.
They are frequently found in tumuli or earthworks,
and remains of early occupation. They are mostly
formed of indurated clay, bone, or stone, sometimes
almost spherical, whilst other specimens are of
flattened form, perforated in all cases, in the direction
of the smaller diameter. They vary from about one
to two inches in diameter. The conjecture appears
probable that they may have been used in connection
with the distaff, and the occurrence of such an object
in a tumulus might thus serve to indicate the
interment of a female. Some northern antiquarians,
however, have regarded such perforated balls, or
beads, as weights used in fishing, either for line
or nets.
   The tribe of the Iceni, whose headquarters were
at Exning, on Newmarket Heath, is mentioned by
different ancient writers, though under a variety of
names. That of " Iceni " is the form under which
it appears in most copies of Tacitus, and that which
is generally adopted. By Ptolemy they are called the
Simeni (tLXevot, or, as some copies give it 'IuEvo&), and
their chief town is said to be Venta (OV'Qra). The
ninth Iter of Antoninus is from   Venta Icenorum
(or Iciorum) to Londinium, and the geographer of
Ravenna makes mention of the same town, but under
the form Venta Cenomum. We learn from Tacitus
   An urn somewhat similar to that described above was found by
some labourers employed to remove one of the Barrows on the Beacon
Hill in May, I815. See "Archxologia," vol. xviii., app. p. 436. London,
1817.



BOOK I.]



5

 

THE HISTORY OF NE WMARKE T.



that the territory of the Iceni cannot have been far
distant from Camulodunum. There is a class of
coins which are principally found in the counties of
Norfolk and Suffolk, possessing sufficient peculiarities
of type to distinguish them as the currency of an
independent tribe. On some of these coins the in-
scription ECEN occurs, which has been thought to
refer to the name of the tribe, and doubtless justifies
the reading ICENI, in preference to SIMENI, or any of
the other forms. A tribe called Cenimagni is specified
among those who, after the surrender of the Trino-
bantes, sent ambassadors, and submitted themselves
to Julius; and it has been suggested by Camden, and
accepted by some other writers, that in the first portion
of this name we are to recognize that of the Iceni.
The principal facts which are known in connection with
this tribe are those of Tacitus (" Annals," lib. xii. cap.
31, el seq.). In A.D. 50 the Iceni are spoken of as a
powerful nation, and unbroken by war, because they
had voluntarily entered into an alliance with the
Romans. At that time, however, they came into,
collision with the invaders, and were defeated by
Ostorius, after which it would appear that they
retained a kingly form of government only by
sufferance of the Romans. This may be gathered
from the testamentary disposition of one of their
kings, who, in A.D. 6i, when next the Iceni are
mentioned, it would seem was but recently dead.
This king, Prasutagus by name, renowned for his
immense wealth, made the Roman emperor and his
own two daughters his joint heirs, thinking by this



[BOOR I.



6

 

THE ICENI COINS.



expedient to place both his kingdom and family
beyond the reach of injury. How this arrangement
succeeded is well known; the tyranny of the Romans
having brought about the sanguinary revolt under
Boadicea, the widow of Prasutagus, in which the
Iceni, in conjunction with the Trinobantes and other
tribes not accustomed as yet to the Roman yoke,
destroyed the Roman garrison town of Camulodunum
and some other Roman stations. No less than seventy
thousand of the Romans and their allies are said to
have been slaughtered before Suetonius Paulinus, the
Roman governor and general, was in a position to
engage with the insurgents. In the engagement,
however, which ensued, the defeat of the Britons was
complete, their army having been nearly annihilated,
and Boadicea driven to end her life by poison. From
this time forward there is no mention of the Iceni in
the pages of Roman history.
   Nearly all the gold and silver coins of the Iceni
bear on the reverses the figure of a horse. Many of
these horses, however, show a peculiarity in the pellets'
on the shoulder, and the hairy or branched character
of their tails, which is confined to the Roman-British
coins of this district. The inscriptions on these coins,
as far as at present known, are ECEN, ECE, SAE-IV,
AESv, ANTED, and CAV () DVRO. The first person
who suggested the attribution of coins of this class to
the Iceni, was Sir Thomas Browne, the author of
"Pseudodoxia Epidemica."  In his " Hydriotaphia'
(p. 7, ed. i669) he relates that at the two Caistors,
by Norwich and Yarmouth, " some British coynes of



T"ows 1-]



7

 

7HE HISTORY OF NEWMARKET.



Gold have been dispersedly found; and no small
number of Silver-pieces near Norwich, with a rude
Head upon the Obverse, and an ill-formed Horse on
the Reverse, with Inscriptions IC., DURO, T., whether
implying fcen4; Duro/riges, Tascia, or Trinobanfes, we
leave to higher conjecture." Gale, in his " Itinerary
of Antonious" (4to ed. I 709, p. i09), seems to refer to
the same coins, and is, indeed, probably quoting Sir
Thomas Browne. White, in the description of his
Plate of British Coins (I773), also refers a coin of
the type Plate xv., No. 3, to the Iceni ; and Akerman,
" Num. Chron.," vol. i., p. 83, expresses his opinion
that this class of coins is peculiar to Cambridgeshire.
To Mr. Beale Poste, however, belongs the credit of
having been the first to engrave a series of these coins
in one plate, as coins of the Iceni (" Archaeological
Associations Journal," vol. iv., p. 107), and this attribu-
tion was corroborated by Mr. C. Roach Smith, in
"Num. Chron.," vol. xv., p. 98.
    Commercial intercourse between the Phcenician
inhabitants of Tyre and the ancient Britons is sup-
posed to have occurred some time between B.C. 1200
and B.C. 6oo, and chiefly consisted of minerals, cattle,
and the skins of wild animals. Later on we know
beyond doubt British horses-
            "Practised alike to stop, to turn, to chase,
            To dare the shock, or urge the rapid race "-
 were so beautiful, so admirably trained, and so much
 admired, that they were exported to Rome in con-
 siderable numbers for the chariot and for mounting
 cavalry. And after the Roman conquest of Britain



[BOOK T.



8

 

THE ICENI HORSES.



had taken place, these horses, like other products of
this country, were heavily taxed by the conqueror.
Camden tells us that for the tribute payable by the
Britons coins were stamped for this purpose. As the
coins of the Iceni, above mentioned, bore on the re-
verses the figure of a horse, we may safely deduce
that, even in those early times, the vicinity of New-
market was celebrated for its horses. This inference
is apparently confirmed by the presence of the word
Tascio, or Tacia, or some abbreviation of it, on these
Brito-Romano coins-a word said to be derived from
task or lascu, which means, " in the original language
of Britain," any load, burthen, or tribute imposed by
the Tag, or prince, and that all the money so stamped
had been coined for no other purpose than to pay the
tribute or taxes imposed by the Romans, and levied
upon certain products of the Britons.
   The following survey of, and remarks upon, the
Devil's Ditch at Newmarket, are derived from a
paper contributed by A. J. K. to the " Gentleman's
Magazine," January, i845:

   In the month of August, 1842, I had the opportunity of
making some notes, founded on personal inspection, of the
structure of that very remarkable ancient military earthwork
on Newmarket Heath, in Cambridgeshire, popularly called
the Devil's Dyke. As I am not aware that any particular
survey of this strong and very extensive line of defence has
been made, the report of my examination of it may not be
unacceptable.
   I surveyed it at a spot called The Links, where it remains



 Henry's " History of Briton," vol. i.



Boos J.]



9

 

THE HISTORY OF NEWMARKET.



very bold and perfect, about a quarter of a mile south of the
turnpike gate, which stands where it is crossed by the high
road from Newmarket to London and Cambridge. I ob-
tained, in a rough way, the following measurements, which
cannot, however, greatly err from the truth.
   This formidable vallum or rampart was commenced
probably at its southern extremity, where the Ordnance map
of Cambridgeshire marks the site of an ancient entrenched
camp at Wood Ditton; there are also some tumuli northward
of that place in front of the dyke, called, traditionally, " The
Two Captains." Wood Ditton is evidently a name associated
with the dyke, implying the wood on the ditch. The work
is continued northward, across Newmarket Heath, in a
straight course of eight miles, to a stream near the village
of Reach, whose appellation, from the Saxon, pcecan, indi-
cates the point to which the dyke reached or extended (see
the Plan), so that its right flank rested on streams and marsh
lands, and its left on a forest tract. The vallum being thrown
up on the eastern side, shows that the entrenchment was in-
tended to secure the plain of Newmarket against an enemy
approaching from the westward by a barrier, impregnable if
properly defended. Such, indeed, it must have been, for the
escarpment of the rampire from the bottom of the ditch in
the most perfect places measures not less than ninety feet,
and is inclined at an angle of seventy degrees. On the top
of the rampart is a cursus, or way, eighteen feet in breadth,
sufficiently wide for the passage of cavalry or chariots. I
have been told that, some years since, fragments of bronze
furniture of chariot wheels were dug up near the line of dyke,
but I cannot verify the information.  On the top of the
rampart I thought I could distinguish faint traces of a
parapet of turf. The whole was probably strengthened by a
line of palisades or stakes. It will be readily imagined how
strong a defence this steep and bristled wall of earth must
then have formed. Even now, to ascend its outward base
from the bottom of the ditch is a feat of no small difficulty
and labour. The excavation for the work was made in the solid
stratum of chalk, which lies on Newmarket Plain next under



[BOOK I.



TO

 


KTHE DE VIVS DI TCH.



the vegetable mould; the rampire was doubtless faced with
green sods, and nature has continued the surface of sward to
this day.
   About seven miles to the westward, crossing the high
road, and running nearly in a parallel line, is another ditch
and rampart, called the Fleam Dyke, which may be rendered,
from the Saxon, the dyke of flight or refuge (Fleam), as it
probably was for the inhabitants of East Anglia, being an
obstacle against the assaults of the Mercians.  I have not
yet had the opportunity of comparing the construction of the
Fleam Dyke with that of the Devil's Dyke; it varies very
little in extent from the latter; it is called also, from the
length of its course, the Seven-Mile Dyke. On the inner or
eastern side of this work, near the high road, is a considerable
tumulus, called in the maps, Matlow Hill.
   I am strongly disposed to think that the Devil's Dyke,
and perhaps other lines of entrenchment of a similar character
in the neighbourhood, were constructed by the Roman legions
at an early period in Britain. Camden enumerates three
military dykes in Cambridgeshire besides the Devil's Dyke,
the strongest of them all. The Roman forces, after obtaining
their first footing in Britain, occupied and colonized some
eligible positions in Kent, Middlesex, and Essex; we find them
at the time of the revolt of Boadicea at Camulodunum (Col-
chester), Verulamium (St. Alban's), and Londinium (London).
The Trinobantes and Iceni were perhaps the first British
districts which received the Roman yoke....
   The first mention of the Devil's Dyke in history is found
in the Saxon Chronicle under the year 905, which tells us
that the land of the East Angles was laid waste between the
dyke and the Ouse, as far northward as the fens. The dyke
was termed in the Norman period St. Edmunds Dyke, because
the jurisdiction of the abbots of Bury St. Edmunds extended
so far westward. The description of the dyke by Abbo
Floxiacensis, a writer of the tenth century who had visited
Britain, as quoted by Camden (edited by Gibson), is remark-
able for its brief accuracy. Speaking of East Anglia, he says,
that on the west " this province joins to the rest of the island,



BOOK I.]



I I

 

THE HISTORY OF NEWMARKET.



and consequently there is a passage; but to prevent the
enemies', frequent incursions it is defended by a bank like a
lofty wall, and a ditch." A reference to the sketch and
section accompanying these notes will at a glance show the
appropriate character of Abbo's words....
   I have hitherto omitted to mention that I observed some
fragments of Roman tile scattered near the dyke, and that it
appears to have been cut through in forming the present high
road from Newmarket to Cambridge. That is some evidence
for its very high antiquity. I recommend the explorator of
this interesting fortification not to fail to visit the dyke at the
Links, to descend into the fosse, and obtain the view I have
given of its course, ascending the rising grounds southward in
the direction of Wood Ditton. It will then be allowed I have
drawn no exaggerated picture of the work. On the race-
course at Newmarket its character is not so bold; it has been
broken through in order to form apertures for the running
horses at places which the general name of gates (i.e. gaps)
has been. given, and the rains of centuries have had more
effect in reducing its features. If opportunity should occur,
I shall be happy at some future period to survey the entrench-
ments marked in the Ordnance map at Wood Ditton, and to
trace the dyke to its termination at Reach.
   The question in the meantime still lies open, whether the
Devil's Dyke is a Roman or a Saxon work, and any informa-
tion tending to settle that point, conveyed through the
medium of the " Gentleman's Magazine," will be received with
satisfaction. The generations of mankind rapidly pass away,
but the monuments which their labour has erected on the
surface of the earth remain. Tradition generally affords an
uncertain or exaggerated view of their origin, if remote, or, at
a loss for its traces, proclaims them the work of demons.
Written records are sometimes scanty, or altogether wanting.
Documents and relics are often worthless, if not submitted to
critical analysis. In many cases the aid of actual survey and
delineation, and of the mattock and spade, must be resorted
to. Coins, military weapons (observing whether these be of
brass or iron), relics of domestic utensils or sepulchral rites,



[BOOK I.



12

 

















































































PLAN OF DFVII.S UYKF, NEWIIARKIFl.              t2.

 






















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ID

40
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0
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0
Ct

 
EXNING.



may then be sought for, and, as these are evidences generally
capable of comparative and chronological classification, they
become of importance, and in the hands of a judicious collector
are no longer rubbish unfit to occupy that most valuable of
commodities entrusted to our husbandry-time.

   According to the best authorities the Devil's Ditch
was the boundary between the two Saxon kingdoms
of East Anglia and Mercia while the Heptarchy lasted,
and although we have no definite evidence of the town
of Newmarket, per se, having existed prior to the
Middle Ages, it seems that this unnamed hamlet formed
a part of Exning in the Anglo-Saxon era. Exning may
be said to have decayed in the same ratio as New-
market increased in importance and prominence.
Formerly the parish of Exning comprehended the
whole of what is now that of Newmarket, and its
church was the mother-church to which the flock of the
latter resorted. Consequently Newmarket may claim,
as a portion of Exning (in those days of geographical
ambiguity) the honour of being the birth-place of St.
Etheldreda, a daughter of Anna and Hereswitha,
king and queen of East Anglia, circa A.D. 630.
Exning was anciently called Ixning-a word evidently
derivable from that of Iceni, by which Caesar and
Tacitus described the inhabitants of Cambridgeshire,
Huntingdonshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk. There is no
name in the calendar of female British saints more
fertile of strange incident and marvellous adventure
than that of our St. Etheldreda; and one of the most



   See Baudrand's Geography, p. 503, edit. Paris, 1682; and Camden,
Mag. Brit., vol. v., p. 220, edit. orig.



BooK I.]



13

 

4HE HISTORY OF NEWMARKET.



curious manuscripts extant in this country, forms the
precious repository of her achievements.
    Now, having regard to the fact that in com-
paratively modern times royalty was so closely
associated with Newmarket, we are induced to give
a brief memoir of St. Etheldreda,7 as she was one of
the earliest sovereigns connected with the Town, some
six hundred years before it was even christened; and
may she not without profanity be termed the Patron
Saint of the Metropolis of the Turf 

   1 Born at Exning, about the year 630, Etheldreda, daughter
of Anna, king of the East-Angles, and Hereswitha his queen,
was bred and educated there under the supervision of her
illustrious parents, from whom she received the first im-
pressions of religion and virtue. In her childhood, the mild-
ness of her temper, and innocence of behaviour, joined with
the beauty of her person, rendered her the delight of all that
were about her; but that which was most observable in her
constitution at that time of her life, was a serious turn of
mind, and a bent to religious duties. It was very early that
she devoted herself to the service of God, and had formed in
her mind a design of preserving in a virgin state during life,
a species of piety in that age held in high esteem, and
requisite to Christian perfection, which this princess was
generally thought to have carried to a pitch of heroism.
   The amiableness of her person, heightened by those excel-
lent endowments of mind she was possessed of, in a court
where the most exalted piety and the strictest virtue were
considered as the highest and noblest accomplishments, could
not fail of exciting the admiration of many, and made her
name celebrated in the other Saxon courts.  There were
several persons of the highest rank who became suitors for



   The Liber Eliensis. See Wharton, vol. i., pp. 593-688; Gale, vol. i.
pp. 463-525.



[BOOK 1.



14

 

ST. ETHELDREDA.



her in marriage; but as the princess had already formed in
her mind a different scheme of life, and was bent on a
religious retirement from the world, she declined every offer
that could be mad