Hidden Henley
weekly feature about curiosities in Henley-on-Thames and the surrounding area
Category: Uncategorized
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Ama of the Thames is a mermaid sculpture alongside the river installed June 2013 in Red Lion Lawn, which had just reopened after renovations. The ceremony included our energetic mayor back then Stefan Gawrysiak and there was an explanation that the two metre high sculpture by Amaryllis Batallie was one of 20, all sightly different,…
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Built in the mid 19th century, The Five Horseshoes at Remenham Hill closed some time ago and has since been a commercial property with several different businesses. It’s sadly now unoccupied (at least, I think it’s empty!) yet the old pub sign seen in my picture still survives. Some that are reading this will remember…
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A puzzling decoration high up in the Market Place, Henley-on-Thames High up in the eaves of this building are these three sets of decorations and they evidently date back to when there was a hotel located under here, in the pedestrianised part of the Market Place. Mounted on the corner building alongside are signs saying…
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Many of us find the problem of homelessness, which is so obvious in our cities (and elsewhere too), to be distressing and disturbing. One such place that I visit is Leicester. From 11th May to 3rd July I am exhibiting limited edition framed photographs of this energetic city for sale with all the proceeds going…
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Hardly “hidden”, this stone marks the Henley Tabernacle in 1878 and is right alongside the pavement on the D2 building where hundreds of people pass by. At the bottom is the name “C Clements: Builder”. Charles Clements was both a builder and alderman who was a member of the Temperance movement who were dedicated to…
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You could only have been in Henley-on-Thames if you encountered a large and curious regatta rower design on the wall of the public lavatory! Back in December when I had only just started posting this feature online (Facebook: Martin Cook; Instagram: hidden_henley and website: hiddenhenley.com) after 25 years of submitting them to the local newspaper,…
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It’s worth travelling a little further to see this week’s curious subject. Here are both a telephoto and an ultra-wide angle lens view of the fine sculpture inside the part of this church which is still protected from the weather, as well as an overall view from above. This is because most of this church’s…
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This puzzling sight is all that’s left of an “old-school” traffic sensor which can be found opposite The Catherine Wheel in Hart Street in our town and close to the taxi parking point. Long before all the electronic sophistication available today, long rubber strips at right angles to the road tripped the timers on what…
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10 4 26 Take a walk to Rotherfield Greys and visit the church to be rewarded with the sight of this outstanding tomb which, even as a keen photographer, I have to admit cannot be given justice in a picture. Whether from a religious or secular point of view you do need to look at…
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This curiosity is only about half a metre high but refers to some significant stories that took place in the area. On the edge of the woods of nearby Nettlebed on the Highmoor side is this well preserved miniature castle from World War II. The inscription reads: 343 Engineers US Army 1942. It’s a replica…
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27 3 26 I remember as a young boy walking alongside the wall around the former Fred Cook’s nursery at the junction of the Wargrave Road, and almost opposite the Little Angel, and asking my mother why the top had pieces of broken bottles sticking out. I was told it was to stop “naughty boys…
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Does this building have stories to tell? This fine old building in Hart Street, which has fairly recently had a blue plaque added, was the birthplace in 1591 of the Speaker of the Long Parliament, and is now private residencies and a property agent. It seems that William Lenthall and his family owned several properties…
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There’s a curious story of a possible injustice that’s told in the nearby well-kept church at Remenham which is a very pleasant one and a half mile walk from Henley town centre. The information board alongside the stained glass window in my picture says: “George Hawkes spent all his life in Remenham – his father…
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There is an appendage on the side of the Old Speakers House in Hart Street which I have featured before when I used to submit these to the local newspaper, and which on closer examination is not a buttress for reinforcing and supporting the building. There’s another between an estate agent and a cafe in…
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The Chantry House must be one of the most obvious subjects for my Hidden Henley; being both “hidden” and steeped in historic curiosity. Although a substantial building it is easily missed since it is only visible by turning the corner away from the usual path in St Mary’s Church garden, or through the gap in…
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It was about twenty years or so ago when this car park and leisure spot going out on the A404 to nearby Bisham was sealed off to join the ever-growing ranks of inaccessible public open spaces. Now it’s an unused, overgrown tangle of small trees, shrubs and nettles, as you can see in my picture,…
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There’s currently a fine knitted topper with a St Valentine’s Day theme to the Royal Mail post box at the entrance to the Gainsborough estate here in Henley. This housing area was named after the brother of the more famous artist Thomas Gainsborough. Yes, it’s named after our own Humphrey Gainsborough who was an inventor,…
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For a change this week I’m taking you from the rainy streets and swollen river of our town out to the nearby countryside hamlet on higher ground of Warren Row, which is where you will see this curioustiny church. Although there were many buildings made with corrugated iron from the mid-19th century onwards, there are…
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Glance through the carriage arch where The Old White Hart used to be (now Zizzi) and you will see this easily missed mythical male deer sculpture on the roof opposite. In her Henley guide book of 1866, Emily Climenson says about this place “The White Hart in Hart Street is another ancient inn. There was…
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Perhaps there has been a county boundary stone or similar mark on nearby Sonning’s river bridge since it was first built. Puzzling at first sight! This one in my picture replaced an earlier version which had worn away to be illegible. The division between Oxfordshire and Berkshire often follows the imaginary centre of the river…
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Here’s some more. Again, all poor quality!
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Four photos of the old Henley Swimming Baths
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My picture this week was challenging to capture from across the opposite side of the river to show what remains of the concrete plinth for the diving springboard at the site of the former Henley Swimming Baths. It is now simply a small ridge of concrete with stud bolts protruding. The baths were on this…
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Did any readers watch repeats of that classic locally-filmed comedy The Vicar of Dibley during this Christmastime? Or perhaps some people reading this received a card with the special edition Royal Mail stamps featuring scenes and characters from it. The village is well known both in it’s own right as well as a filming location…
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“At Conway’s Bridge, mind the ridge, single file, for just a while”. So said the signs fixed to trees on the approach to this historic and peculiar “Ragged Arch” around 25 years ago. Motorists had to give way to each other without the directive of traffic lights. Nowadays, with the volume of traffic and the…
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Angel on the Bridge currently Plus flooding in Henley-on-Thames and surrounding area back in the year 2000
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This is the view from Henley bridge of a really busy spot, especially in the summer, the Angel on the Bridge river terrace. Many readers will be here at some time during the new year of 2026. The premises are Grade II listed and date to 1728 but most customers here are too busy enjoying…
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You might say that this is the essence of Hidden Henley: something that hundreds of people walk over every day and never notice! A few years ago the sight in my picture and the thought of how they were used in the past caused considerable discussion during my Hidden Henley guided walks. Outside number 21…
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My picture shows where water empties in the Thames at a point on Thameside in Henley between the public launching slipway at the foot of New Street and the green building on the river which is still marked where the Hooper family rented out pleasure boats. Is this the output of the curious Assendon (sometimes…
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My picture shows the Kings Road side of Henley Town Hall on a December early morning in dim light, but you may be able to make out that one of the lower windows is different from the rest. It’s the same story on the other side of this outstanding building, which we usually only view…
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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…
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The Royal Family have been more than ever in the news recently and this week I’m inviting you to look at a Royal connection from 1953. The Fairmile (sometimes written as two words) is an exceptionally fine introduction to Henley when approaching from the Oxford side. William Morris described it as “the loveliest approach to…
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This week a story of the power of love and of differing views about the “facts” back in the 18th century; the busy ghost of Mary Blandy has been seen not just around Blandy House in Hart Street in our town, but at Oxford Castle, Turville, Hambleden, our Kenton Theatre, Catherine Wheel and where my…
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With Remembrance Day this weekend it seems topical to remind readers that it was a local man who played a large part in the poppies that we associate with this time of the year. Although during World War 1 so much countryside was turned into fields of mud after extensive fighting and bombing, yet despite…
Hidden Henley 