Hidden Henley

Has anyone reading this encountered any of these curious cast metal markers with their dome top and presumably a ground spike of considerable size?

This one reads “Henley Borough Boundary 1908” and can be found to one side of Pack & Prime Lane as the bridleway starts its gradual ascent towards Rotherfield Greys; just after the footpaths join it from both the Henley College playing fields and on the opposite side the footpath to Happy Valley and Greys Court beyond. It seems that our town’s Corporation installed a quantity of these marker posts at strategic points along the boundary but that many had to be moved in 1932 to update their position with the extension of the borough! It could be that many have now been buried under rubble or earth. Where the casting meets the ground there has been some erosion but the lettering is still easily read. Like so many of the subjects in this feature, it’s easy to walk past without really noticing. It’s worth taking a moment to consider all the history this this one has “seen” – so to speak, in almost 120 years.

Especially true before Henley inventor Humphrey Gainsborough developed the pound locks on the Thames in this area, the river was unsafe in places and many cargoes would have been unloaded on Henley’s wharfs and then transported outwards on land, including using this particular route. It’s widely believed that this track, which probably dates to the 13^th century, was also once the operating area of highwaymen and other thieves. Hence travellers were advised to carry firearms for self-defence – to pack their pistols with gunpowder and prime them in case of ambush.