Henley River and Rowing Museum
Nicola Lisle continues her museum series with a look at this lovely riverside museum in Henley-on-Thames.
JUST outside Henley’s bustling shopping centre lies the River and Rowing Museum, situated close to the river that has shaped the town’s history.
A thriving inland port from medieval times, with local bargemen regularly carrying wood and grain to London, Henley had to rapidly reinvent itself during the 19th century after the railway took away much of its trade. The launch of the Regatta in 1839 helped transform Henley from a commercial port into a tourist magnet as people flocked to the town to revel in the drama of the sporting events or simply enjoy a leisurely day out on the river.
The 20th century saw the river play an important role in both world wars, including providing some of the ‘little ships’ to help in the mass evacuation of troops from Dunkirk in 1944.
All this, and more, is brought vividly to life at the River and Rowing Museum, where permanent galleries and special exhibitions capture the changing role of the river in Henley over several hundred years.
The museum was the brainchild of David Lunn-Rockcliffe, then executive secretary of the Amateur Rowing Association and rowing journalist Chris Dodd, who met early in the 1980s to discuss the idea of creating a national rowing museum. They were later joined by Henley businessman Sir Martyn Arbib, who helped bankroll the project.
Housed in a building designed by British architect David Chipperfield, the museum opened on August 29, 1998, after being in gestation for nearly 20 years and was formally opened by the Queen two months later, on November 6.
Nearly a quarter of a century on, the museum has notched up numerous awards and nominations, as well as being named one of the top 50 museums in the world by The Times in 2013.
Henley Gallery
A good place to start exploring the museum is the Henley Gallery, which tells the story of the town and how its fortunes have always been inextricably linked to the river. Here you can find out how the river trade influenced the planning of the medieval town, how the decline of the port and the rise in leisure and sporting pursuits saw the town adapt to a new clientele, and how Prince Albert’s patronage of the regatta in 1851 saw Henley become a fashionable resort.
A highlight of the displays here is Eva, built in 1874 as an open umpire’s launch for the regatta but quickly found to be unsuitable and sold into private ownership before being returned to Henley for restoration in 1996.
Designed and built by Chiswick boatbuilder John Isaac Thornycroft,
Eva was one of the fastest launches of her day, reaching speeds of 16.5mph.
There is plenty of regatta and other boating memorabilia on display, as well as a model of a 14th century shout (a flatbottomed boat used for transporting goods from Henley to London) and various letters, drawings, paintings, oral histories and much more.
Classic tale
In the River Gallery, you can find out about the Swan Upping tradition along the Thames, how the Conservators of the Thames balanced the conflicting interests of commercial and leisure users of the river from 1856-1974 and how author Kenneth Grahame was inspired by the river around Henley to write his children’s classic The Wind in the Willows, published in 1908.
Among the boats on display is a Rob Roy canoe, built by Searle & Sons in 1865 for John MacGregor, whose account of his European tour, A Thousand Miles in a Rob Roy Canoe, became a bestseller and led to the formation of the Royal Canoe Club in 1866.
There is also a 1909 fliere-fluiter, a traditional Thames sailing skiff similar to the type featured in Jerome K Jerome’s 1899 novel Three Men in a Boat.
In the International Rowing Gallery there are tales of sporting prowess and endurance at events such as the Olympics, the Paralympic Games and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, alongside historic boats and sporting memorabilia.
Before you leave, make sure you visit the Wind in the Willows exhibition, a charming recreation of riverbank scenes from the book based on the illustrations by EH Shepard.
The nearby river is worth exploring – boat hire and boat trips are available, and there are lovely walks along the towpath.
With thanks to Charlotte Kewell, head of marketing and communications, River & Rowing Museum
Henley River & Rowing Museum Mill Meadows, Henley- onThames, Oxfordshire RG9 1BV Tel: 01491 415600 www.rrm.co.uk
Open Thursday- Monday 10am-4pm
Car park (charges apply), gift shop and cafe.