Hi Geoff,
The New Market Inn – which was sometimes listed in directories as the Newmarket Inn, though I think it was actually named for its proximity to the market place in what became Bennington Street, rather than for the East Anglian town – actually appears listed under Market Place. Martin Edwards had it listed as existing in 1844, and guessed that it might have been located in Back Street (the old name for St. Margaret’s Road/Swindon Road) and this wasn’t far off. New Market Place actually existed set back off Margaret Street (St. Margaret’s Road) between where Bennington Street and Oxford Passage are now.
It appears on the 1855-7 Old Town Survey Map, but there is some damage which partially obscures the name. Still, using this and a modern slidable map overlay, I can confirm that it was located where the later Victorian School House building, behind the Chantry building which fronts onto St. Margaret’s Road is now. This would have been behind the market place that operated from the 1820s where Bennington Street would later be built, which itself was located behind a covered and colonnaded kind of bazaar or arcade and shambles. The open air market place was moved away from its old home near Church Street and pushed back away from the High Street so as not to offend the olfactory nerves of the increasing numbers of genteel visitors to the spa town (i.e. to keep the common traders and their pongs out of the posh people’s nostrils!).
The New Market / Newmarket Inn was consistently listed in lots of directories. The earliest landlord I could find referenced was William Lait in 1830, then in Annuaires from 1839 – 1843.
1844 George Stoyle (Martin Edwards) also 1847 Hunt & Co. Directory and 1848, 1850 and 1851 Edward’s Directories.
1856 Emily Stoyle (plus Annuaires 1859 – 1863)
It is not listed in the 1867 Annuaire, so presumably closed between 1864 and 1866.
Regards,
Alan Jones