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No.117 High Street

Alton House

House History

Alton House -
Newmarket Investments PLC, including The British Bloodstock Agency Insurance Services.
International Racing Bureau Ltd.

1997 -

Lushington House, Lushington House Stables, Clifton House and Alton House owned by
'The Lushington House Investment Company Ltd.'

1986

Taylors, solicitors - Alton House - Domesday Survey

1974

Alton House surgery moved to the Rookery

June 1972

Dr. Gilbert Clement Gray died

1971

Dr. Norman Gray died

12th June 1953

Alton House
- Newmarket UDC re-numbering map

16th January 1943

Dr. Clement Frederick Gray died

1936

Alton House - Gray, Dr. Norman - Nkt.8
Doctors Surgery: Gray, Smith, O'Neill - Nkt.59
- Newmarket Directory

31st Dec 1930

Partnership with Harold James Hendley dissolved

1926

Alton House - Nkt.8 -
Gray, Dr. Norman
Hendley, Dr. H.J.H.
- Newmarket Street Directory

1925

Gray, Norman, Alton House, High Street
Hendley, Harold James H., B.A., Alton House, High Street
- Kelly's Directory

March 1924

Plans for Alton House submitted

Notes

  • Up until about 1911 the family of the Doctors Gray - Frederick Clement Gray (who died in 1888), son Clement Frederick Gray and grandsons Norman Gray and Gilbert Clement Gray had all lived at Lushington House - No.119 High Street.

  • Alton House was built in 1924 for Dr. Norman Gray, it was allegedly the first purpose built GP surgery in the country.

  • By 1925 Gilbert Clement Gray had moved into Grasmere - No.13 The Avenue (for more details about Grasmere see the page for 'The Glen' - the house that used to stand where the Avenue is now) .


    Grasmere - No.13 The Avenue

  • Just prior to this, details from the 1916 Kelly's Directory show the family were located as follows:-
    • Gray & Sons, surgeons, Lushington House, High Street
      Gray, Clement Frederick, M.R.C.S.Eng., L.S.A. surgeon, Lushington House
      Gray, Gilbert Clement, M.R.C.S.Eng., L.R.C.P. Lond. surgeon, Brackley House
      Gray, Norman, M.A., M.B., B.C.Camb., M.R.C.S.Eng., L.R.C.P. Lond. surgeon, Brackley House
  • Norman Gray's first wife; Catherine Mary (nee Ogden), died in 1917 while they were living at Brackley House:-



    Brackley House is located at the end of Rous Road near Old Station Road - now known as just No.46 Rous Road.
    In the 1891 census the famous jockey Frederick Webb lived in Brackley House. He won the 1873 Derby on 'Doncaster' - retiring from riding in 1895 he took up training for patrons such as Lord Shrewsbury and the Victorian socialite Lillie Langtry, training a string of 20 horses for her at Etheldreda House, Exning (now Brickfield Stud).


    Brackley House - No.46 Rous Road

    Jockey Frederick (Fred) Webb

  • Moving in after Fred Webb, between about 1897 and 1906 another doctor, Dr. John Hamly Maund lived in Brackley House, making the Gray's not the first doctors to have lived there.

    Dr. Maund subsequently moved to Grosvenor House in the High Street and then later to Heath Cottage, Bury Road (located at what is now the rear entrance into Majestic Wine Warehouses Ltd.).

    Heath Cottage c.1960's

    Heath Cottage 2009

  • Following on from Dr. Maund, sometime before 1911 and before the Grays moved in, Brackley House was occupied by the photographer Frank Griggs - who's shop was later located where the present Post Office is - further details about him can be found here No.103 High Street. Frank seems to have had quite a strong association with the medical practitioners in Newmarket for reasons not yet known.



    Alton House Surgery - gateway to the dispensary

  • [Note from webmaster - familial memory seems to recall that the passage-way in the above photo was the way-in to the dispensary, also the room where you left samples for the 'Path Lab'. One notable difference in the way medicines were dispensed in those days is that the memory of the dispensary is rows of brown bottles on the shelves just inside the door, each with the patient's name on them, ready for collection - not something that could be done these days!]



  • Building Changes

  • Suffolk Record Office, Bury St Edmunds Branch
    Newmarket Urban District Council Records
    Reference EF 506 
  • House, The Terrace, High St, for Dr C.F. Gray (L.E. Cole) EF 506/6/1/19/666 Mar 1924


  • Many thanks to 'Old Newmarket' for the photos 'The Terrace lower-part c. 1930s', 'The Terrace lower-part c.1900'
    and 'The Terrace middle-part c. 1900'.

    In the two earlier 1900 photos the location of Alton House is just a tall brick wall fronted by a row of trees. The 1930s photo shows the recently built House, still with a row of now heavily pruned trees - its not known when these trees were removed, but numerous comments about these photos on 'Old Newmarket' on Facebook suggest that the area would look much better with them.

  • Many thanks to Roger Newman for the 'Simpson's Series' postcard 'The Terrace lower c. 1920'.

  • Many thanks to Dr Paul Saban for help with information regarding the medical history of Newmarket.


Photos

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Alton House

Alton House

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