Few people today remember, or appreciate, all that Colonel Harry McCalmont did for Newmarket, both in a private capacity and as its MP. However, as a keen sportsman and owner of a prestigious local racing stud, Harry was very much in tune with the needs and prospects of most of the local community and the town’s economy.
The winds of change had begun blowing more strongly after Newmarket acquired its first railway line and station (opened 1848). Despite a few setbacks, a second station , Warren Hill, opened on the Bury Road, adjacent to the rail tunnel which now ran beneath the famous training grounds. This was on 21st April 1885. It was of great benefit, as passenger traffic from the north and east had increased significantly and coal fuel was also being brought in by train from the north. .
Now Newmarket was more accessible, race day crowds were ever-increasing. A previously unforseen consequence was that racehorses could now be transported by rail all over the country in special horse boxes (wealthier owners had their own, private ones). All these carriages and waggons required physical space in goods’ yards. Racing stables in the town doubled in number and the bloodstock industry, stud farms and horse sales were all expanding concerns. After the new, third station opened, the old, first station handled all horse traffic, so vast sidings sprang up beside it. .
It seems that Harry McCalmont always saw his money as a tool to get what he wanted / to get things done. He was not a hoarder or miser. Indeed, in his relatively short life he got through around half of his great fortune. Certainly, he was not a mean man. From his own pocket he paid for a new, third, rail station for Newmarket (a small remnant of this is the station we use today). This created many new opportunities for the town and instantly boosted Newmarket’s prestige and economy. .
This project cost Harry McCalmont £30,000 - £40,000 (an enormous sum in those days). It also involved laying a narrow gauge railway line from Cheveley Park to the new station. It is often joked that this was McCalmont’s private line to get to the new station. This is only partly true as initially, it was also used for the transport of building materials to the construction site. Today, that line defines the layout of Centre Drive, which was its route before the road was built. .
The new (3rd) station was opened 7th April 1902. At least Harry lived to see some of his benefits to Newmarket as he sadly, died December 8th 1902. .
Another of his lasting legacies to the town is The Avenue. Prior to building the new station Harry had decided that Newmarket’s growing prestige demanded a grand entrance to both his station and the town itself. In consequence, he built The Avenue with it grand, individual houses.
History
Col. Harry McCalmont Part 2 - Newmarket’s Railway and The Avenue
