The Town of Henley

Eva

Peer through the windows into the beautiful wooden interior of Eva, the largest boat that we have in our collection. Eva is a steam launch that was originally used by umpires at Henley Royal Regatta. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the most manoeuvrable craft and so this didn’t last long…

Jan Siberechts

See if you can spot local landmarks that are still as familiar today as when Dutch artist, Jan Siberechts, made this intricate oil painting of the town from the Wargrave Road in 1698. The painting is in its own room off the Henley Gallery so you can really take in its impressive size and detail.

Henley Swimming Baths

Always remember to look up when you visit us! In the Henley Gallery you can spot old signs from the town including that from the old swimming baths that featured this grand crest, as well as Cassandra, a wooden racing boat typical of that used in the 1950s

Tamesis and Isis

This pair may be familiar if you know Henley well. The work of the fascinating 18th century sculptress, Ann Seymour Damer, these terracotta friezes of the mythical Tamesis (Old Father Thames, with bullrushes in his hair) and Isis (river goddess, modelled on Miss Freeman of Fawley Court) are versions of those that she carved from stone and which adorn the keystones of Henley Bridge to this day. On the bridge, Tamesis faces north, downstream towards Remenham, while Isis looks south to the Museum and the upper reaches of the Thames.

Ann Damer was a talented sculptress but is little known today. She was a close friend of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and took up her chisel and hammer once again following the suicide of her husband, ending a short and unhappy marriage.

This pair, made from terracotta and plaster, were first exhibited at the Royal Academy, London in 1785.

Drawers of Discovery

Pull out the drawers in the Henley Gallery to find out more about the stories and artefacts on display.

Iron Age Hoard

32 coins were found in this hollow flint nodule in a field near Henley. They date to the Iron Age, over 2000 years ago and are made from gold, alloyed with silver and copper. The coins are all blank on one side and show a horse with a triple tail over a wheel on the other. They are likely to have been minted at Silchester in Hampshire and are normally connected with the Atrebates tribe.