A Walk About Town...part one

my feet... a view from above

Henley-on-Thames (ⁱ/ˈhɛnliː ɒn ˈtɛmz/) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead. It is near the corner between the counties of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. Population 10,646.

The official website is: http://www.henley-on-thames.org/

...more info compliments of Wikepedia...

HISTORY:

The first record of medieval settlement dates to 1179, when it is recorded that King Henry II "had bought land for the making of buildings". King John granted the manor of Benson and the town and manor of Henley to Robert Harcourt in 1199. A church is first mentioned at Henley in 1204. In 1205 the town received a paviage grant, and in 1234 the bridge is first mentioned. In 1278 Henley is described as a hamlet of Benson with a Chapel. It is probable that the street plan was established by the end of the 13th century.
As a demesne of the crown it was granted to John de Molyns, in 1337 whose family held it for about 250 years. It is said that members for Henley sat in parliaments of Edward I and Edward III, but no writs have been found to substantiate this.
The existing Thursday market, it is believed, was granted by a charter of King John. A market was certainly in existence by 1269, however, the jurors of the assize of 1284 said that they did not know by what warrant the earl of Cornwall held a market and fair in the town of Henley. The existing Corpus Christi fair was granted by a charter of Henry VI.
During the Black Death that swept through England in the 14th century, Henley lost 60% of its population.
By the beginning of the 16th century the town extended along the west bank of the Thames from Friday Street in the south to the Manor, now Phyllis Court, in the north and took in Hart Street and New Street. To the west it included Bell Street and the Market Place.
Henry VIII, having granted the use of the titles "mayor" and "burgess", the town was incorporated in 1568 by the name of the warden, portreeves, burgesses and commonalty.
Henley suffered from both parties in the Civil War. William III on his march to London in 1688 rested here, at the nearby recently rebuilt Fawley Court and received a deputation from the Lords. The period of prosperity in the 17th and 18th centuries was due to manufactures of glass and malt, and to trade in corn and wool. Henley-on-Thames owes much to its location and port that supplied London with timber and grain.
A workhouse to accommodate 150 people was built at West Hill in Henley in 1790 and later enlarged to accommodate 250 as the Henley Poor Law Union workhouse.

Henley Bridge is a five arched bridge across the river which was built in 1786. During 2011 the bridge underwent a £200,000 repair programme after being hit by a boat Crazy Love in August 2010.
The church of St. Mary is located nearby and features a tower built in the 16th century. About a mile upstream of the bridge is Marsh Lock.
To celebrate Queen Victoria's Jubilee, 60 oak trees were planted in the shape of a Victoria Cross near Fair Mile.
The Old Bell is a traditional pub situated right in the centre of Henley. The building has been dated by experts at 1325, making it the oldest building in the town.
Just outside Henley, in Buckinghamshire, there are several notable private buildings:

• Fawley Court is a red-brick building designed by Christopher Wren for William Freeman (1684) with subsequent interior remodelling by James Wyatt and landscaping by Lancelot "Capability" Brown.
• Greenlands which took its present form when owned by W. H. Smith and is now home to Henley Management College 

PRESENTLY:
The town has its own railway station, with direct service into London Paddington during peak hours. Off-peak service requires a change of train at Twyford. In addition, there are also express mainline rail services from nearby Reading to Paddington and High Wycombe which accesses London Marylebone. A short drive along the M4 motorway leads directly into London or along the M40 motorway to Hillingdon for the London Underground. The local bus service around the town is operated by Whites Coaches as routes 151, 152, 153 and 154; other routes are provided by Arriva Shires & Essex, Thames Travel and Courtney Coaches.
The River and Rowing Museum, located in Mill Meadows, is the town's one museum. It was established in 1998, and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II. The museum, designed by the architect David Chipperfield, features information on the River Thames, the sport of rowing, and the town of Henley itself.
The University of Reading's Henley Business School is near Henley. The UK branch of Weston Woods Studios, which makes short films based on children's books, is also at Henley.

Henley is a world renowned centre for rowing. Each summer Henley Royal Regatta is held on "Henley Reach", a stretch of the river that is naturally straight, although it was later extended artificially. The event became Royal in 1851. In that year Prince Albert became the patron of the regatta.

View from the Henley Bridge looking North...

and South...

the view entering Henley from the east... several famous landmarks can be seen including The River Thames... Henley Bridge... The Angel Pub and Restaurant... The church of St. Mary tower.

 the Church of St. Mary... today (November 1st) was a gorgeous fall day here! The clock on the tower was exactly the same color blue as the sky... I had to wonder if that was the plan when choosing the clock color?! It isn't apparent from the photo, but it is surprising how small each individual stone is used in the churches construction. Also note the planter-they are beautiful and Henley is full of them in various shapes and sizes.

The Town Council building... which also houses the visitor information center... is located at the West end of the Market Place.

The view from the top of the Town Council building steps looking east along the market place. You can see the St. Mary's tower off in the distance and the hilly countryside (if you use your imagination) beyond.
Thursdays are the regular market day here in town with vendors selling all kinds of wares from clothing to fudge...fresh produce...homemade jams and jellies...olives... a great variety, not unlike our own local farmer's markets in Vermont.


Sunday there was a special market day-- less vendors than usual... It was kind of a grey day but there were still many people out and about-- driving, walking, bicycling.

Sunday market

I love the Architecture in town, all of it, not just the famous landmarks. Most buildings are made to last and have clearly been around a good long time... there's a significant use of stone, but the most widely used building material is brick... it's everywhere! Homes, public buildings, garden walls...
Sidewalks and market areas are paved with cut stone, brick, cobbles... most all the neighborhood sidewalks in suburbia, where we live, are asphalt and not very even! Most all curbs I've noticed are made of cobbles - looks like granite to me.

There are planters and container gardens everywhere and things are still blooming here, including the roses!! Amazing! On the walk down to town whichever way we go almost everyone has a garden in the front yard no matter what the size of the yard. Where we live, there are lawns and gardens but as we get closer and closer to town the size of the front yard gets smaller and smaller and smaller. Hedges are used pretty extensively to separate private from public here in the 'suburbs', but again, the closer to town we get then stone or brick walls and fences appear more frequently and every front door in the town is off of a teeny tiny entrance garden with a wall and gate opening to the public walkway. Some are planted, some are paved, some have planters - it's fun to walk along and see what each family has done to make their own little garden uniquely their own. (Will try to get a pic of what i'm talking about if I can do it without infringing on privacy...come back and check here later.)

Hope this gives you some idea of what Henley is like. It is a wonderful English village and I am excited to call it 'home' for the next few months!

Stay tuned for more including some of my favorite places and the ones I frequent the most!

hugs-
susie