The original doorway used by Charles II and his courtiers. Some of the door 'furniture', locks and fittings are thought to date back to the 17th century.
One of the vaulted rooms, once the delight of the diarist John Evelyn with their 'well-turned arches'. These rooms formed the ground floor of the Palace and would have been occupied by servants. In 1926, under Rothschild ownership, this was the pantry where food and utensils were stored.
The Rothschilds reduced the size of this room - the Servants Hall. Restoration was a real challenge for the building historian and the craftsmen employed on the project. They had to revive some of the old skills used by the original architect, William Samwell. The room has been returned to its orginal three-vaulted design.
This was a bedroom for some of the servants and part of a three storey wing added in the 19th century.
Part of the original layout with an arched doorway, it was adapted to accommodate one of two cellars for boilers and coal storage. The wine cellar and silver safe were located in the second cellar.
The Housekeeper's room, it was sub-divided during the Rothschild period as an entrance passageway into the extensions and an office. Main Stairs In order to preserve the most important features of the house, the architects decided to route the new grand oak staircase through all three floors of the Rothschild wing.
This room was part of a royal suite of rooms where the King received his guests. The windows overlooked the walled-garden designed after those he had experienced during his French exile. The room was also used by William Ill who, with his wife Mary, made a great feature of the gardens in a style akin to that of the recently restored Privy Garden at Hampton Court Palace. Restoration of this garden may form a future phase of work at Palace House. The 'Oriel' window overlooking the garden was a dramatic addition to the house by the Rothschilds who used this room as their main drawing room.
A room now housing one of the 'treasures' of Palace House - a window with a solid oak framed and 'counter-balanced-sash' which is believed to be the oldest surviving example of its type in the world. It would have been placed in an external wall between 1668 - 1671 and was revealed during the restoration programme. Its discovery will require the revision of British architectural histories. The room may have been used by a servant of the King.
Likely to have been the King's sitting rooms, they offered views over an area where the first stables for training horses in Newmarket were created. The room adjoining the King's Bedroom featured an innovation of the day - a corner fireplace.
Created by the Rothschild family, it was served from an external staircase erected on the outside of the building . These stairs were demolished during the recent restoration works to reveal the original ground floor entrance.
This room is in the wing added during the 19th century. It spanned the new stairwell but, because of the significance of the original Palace rooms, it was reduced in length to accommodate the new main staircase.
This entire floor, with six bedrooms, was added by the Rothschilds. Drawings from 1926 record the colour theme for each room with the exception of the 'Bachelor's Room'.
Relocation of the staircase has enabled enlargement of this room with its fine views over All Saints' Church. Built in 1875 in the Gothic manner, All Saints is thought to retain parts of the tower of an earlier co-sited mediaeval church.
Known as the 'Crimson Rooms' in 1926,it has views over Palace House Stables. The quality of training stables attracted to the town by Charles II's decision to build this yard, Newmarket's first racing stables and the oldest training establishment in the world, set the town on its course to become 'Headquarters' of horseracing. A bid for lottery funds will be prepared to finance the restoration of these important stables as a visitor centre to celebrate the horse and horseracing.
Former bathroom of the Crimson Room.
From this room it is possible to see the roof of the Trainer's House at Palace House Stables occupied by Bruce Hobbs, the Rothschild's trainer, until 1985.