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H E X L E Y -U P O N -T H A M E S .

O XFO R D SH IR E.

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HENLEYUPONTHAMES
H E N L E Y -U P O N -T H A M E S is a m unicipal borough,
m arket and union town, and head of a p etty sessional
division and county cou rt district, at the junction of
the counties of Oxon, B erks and B ucks, in the Southern
division of the county of Oxford, hundred of Binfield,
rural deanery of H enley and diocese and archdeaconry
of O xford, 35 m iles from London by the road through
Maidenhead, and 35 J to Paddington by the G reat W estern
Tailway, w hich has a term inus here on a branch line
divergin g from the m ain line at T w yford , 10 n orth ­
east from Reading, 9 north-west from Maidenhead
and 23 south-east from th e city of Oxford. The town
is pleasantly situated on the high road from London to
Oxford, on a slight ascent from the banks of the river
Tham es, which ‘here separates the counties of Oxford
and B erks, and is almost entirely surrounded b y wellwooded heights ; since the opening of the railw ay the
town has becom e a v ery favourite and fashionable place
of resort, more especially on account of the annual
regatta held here every sum m er, at which the m ost
accom plished B ritish and foreign oarsm en are wont to
com pete : below the bridge and on both sides of the
railw ay are a num ber of attra ctiv e houses, with brilliant
flower beds and trim lawns stretching down to the
riv er's edge. A stone bridge of five arches, u n itin g the
town of H enley w ith th e p arish of Rem enham , B erk ­
shire, was erected in 1786, at an expense of ¿10,000 ;
th e keyBtones of the centre arch, rep resen tin g by ideal
heads the rivers T ham es and Isis, were scu lp tured by
the Hon. Mrs. D am er.
T he town was incorporated by Queen E lizabeth, but
received a new ch arter 9 G eorge I. (1722), and a
m odern one 10th A u g u st, 1883 ; the corporation consists
of a m ayor, 4 alderm en and 12 councillors. Th e “ Local
G overnm ent A ct, 1858 ” (21 and 22 V iet. c. 98), was
adopted here October 25th, 1864 ; the town consists
princip ally of four wide streets, and is lig h ted w ith
gas by a com pany, and supplied w ith w ater from works,
commenced in N ovem ber. 1880, and opened in June,
1882, by the late R ig h t Hon. W . H. S m ith M .P. ; they
belong to a lim ited com pany, and the w ater is obtained
from a well sunk in the chalk to a depth of 240 feet,
and raised from the P um p in g Station at the bottom of
Dean F ield to a la rg e reservoir at the top of Badgem ore
H ill, capabTe of holding a three days’ supply ; this
com pany was the first in England to adopt the A tkin's
P atent for softening and p u rifyin g the w ater.
The church of S t. M ary, standing near the bridge,
is a large and elegant edifice of stone and flint, in
the D ecorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of
chancel, w ith two north aisles, nave of six bays, aisles
and a lo fty em battled w estern tow er w ith turrets at the
angles and containing a clock and 8 bells : at the east
end of the north aisle is a Perpendicular window with
curious painted glass, and on the south side some richly
D ecorated recesses : the space under the tower has been
form ed into a bap tistery : in the n orth aisle is a m onu­
m ent to Elizabeth, daughter of S ir Nicholas Bacon, lord
keeper, a benefactress to B alliol College, Oxford, and
wife first of Robert Doyley, n ext of Henry Neville and
lastly, 3rd w ife of S ir W illiam Periam kt. L o rd Chief
Baron of the E xchequer ; she died in 1621 ; the m on u­
m ent includes her effigy in a sem i-recum bent posture,
the le ft hand holdin g a book ; here also is a m onum ent
to W illiam H ayward of Shrew sbury, arch itect, after
whose design the bridge over the Tham es here was
erected, and who died in 1782, before it was begun ;
in the E lm es chapel, form erly used as an organ
cham ber, is a m ural m onum ent to m em bers of th at
fam ily from 1626 to 1720, and on the south wall a
tablet to the celebrated French General Charles François
D upérier D um ouriez, who died near H enley, 14th M aich,
1823, and is buried in the aisle : th e church has been
enriched w ith m any beautiful windows, one of which,
presented b y Colonel S ir W illiam Thom as Makins bart. is
a m em orial to John Jackson D .D. Bishop of Lincoln
1853-69, and of London, 3869-84, who held h is first
curacy here from 1835, and to Jam es Russell Woodford
D.D Bishop of E ly 1873-86, and a native of H enley, born
30 A pril, 1820, d. 16 Oct. 1885; and the other window
was erected by L ad y M akins, in m em ory of her fath er ;
in the ancient lady chapel was form erly a window re­
presenting the m urder of Thom as à B ecket, removed
about 1540, as superstitious, a t the instance of Miles
Coverdale : the brasses form erly in th e church are now
lost : S t. Leonard’s ch an try, which for m an y years was
used as a v estry, has been restored, and is now used
as a chapel, and contains three m em orial windows :

in the sum m er of 1853 a subscription was set on f
for the restoration of th e ch urch b y the Rt r!
Thom as B aker M orrell D.D. coadjutor Bishop of EfT
bu rgh , 1863-9, anc* at th a t tim e rector, and the wo?
was subsequen tly effected at a cost exceeding ¿70«»
under the direction of Mr. B enjam in Ferrey, archite t'
of L o n d o n ; the church was re-opened on Frida
1 Dec. 1854, since w hich a w est window and a sere’
of oak have been erected, and durin g the period i88o-Cn
the chancel roof was re-decorated, th e chancel enclosed
by screens of lig h t open iron work, new choir stalls
erected, and other im provem ents effected, at a total
cost of ¿ 2 ,3 0 0 : th ere are 1,200 sittin gs, 1,000 being freein the churchyard is in terred Richard Jennings, master
b uilder of St. P aul's cathedral, who resided for some
tim e at Badgem ore. The p arish register dates from the
year 1558. The living is a rectory, net yearly value
£ 275> w itb g lebe G£5 ) and residence, in the gift 0f the
Bishop of Oxford, and held since 1883 by the Rev. John
F rederic M aul M .A . of C h rist C h urch , Oxford, hon
canon of Oxford, and surrogate. A library of valuable
books, bequeathed to th e town by Dr. Henry Aldrich
rector of H enley, who died in 1737, is preserved at
the rectory house.
H oly T rin ity is an ecclesiastical parish formed March
9th, 1849, out of portions of the parishes of Rotherfield
G rays, Rotherfield Peppard and Henley-upon-Thames:
th e church, erected in 1848, on th e south side of the
town, in th e parish of Rotherfield Greys, is a building
of flint and stone in th e E a rly E nglish styles, from
designs by B. F errey esq. arch itect, enlarged in 1890 and
now consists of chancel, nave, aisles, north transept,
baptistery, organ cham ber, n orth porch, and a western
tu rre t containing 3 bells : it was also reseated with open
oak benches, and now affords 650 sittings. The register
dates from the year 1848. Th e livin g is a vicarage,
gross yearly value ¿200, w ith residence, in the gift
of the rector of R otherfield-G reys, and held since 1912
by the Rev. Rawdon Marwood W illis M .A. of St. John’s
College, O xford. Th e C atholic church of The Sacred
H eart of Jesus, opened in July, 1889, will seat about
150 persons.
The C ongregational chapel, Reading road, was built
in 1907 at a cost, includin g an adjoining hall, of over
¿7,0 0 0 ; there are 550 sittin gs. The original place of
worship, erected in 1719, enlarged in 1829, and
dem olished in 1910, stood near by. In 1662 the Bev.
W. B rice, then rector of H enley, was ejected under the
A ct of U niform ity, and first gathered together a con­
gregation on this sp o t: the first stated minister was
Rev. John G yles, ejected from the vicarage of Lindridge,
W orcestershire, in 1662, by the same A c t ; he died 26th
A p ril, 1683, and a tab let placed over his grave in the
chapel was discovered under the pulpit when the build­
in g was enlarged, and is on the north wall of the
present c h a p e l; the Rev. H um phrey Gainsborough, an
ingenious man and brother to Thomas Gainsborough
R .A . the distinguished painter, became minister in
1748, and is supposed to have been the discoverer of the
separate condenser for steam en g in e s; in 1776 he coni structed a w eighin g m achine for the Corporation, made
a road to the town from Rem enham hill and constructed
locks on the river. Close to the chapel is the ministers
house, and on the south side of it are schoolrooms,
erected by public subscription in 1856.
Th e W esleyan chapel, in Duke street, opened in 1874,
was enlarged* in 1875, and has an attached schoolroomThe B ap tist chapel, in th e M arket place, was built in
1878, and has 300 sittin g s.
The B ap tist chapel, G ravel h ill, was erected in rib ­
and will seat 150 persons.
There is a M eeting House at Northfield E n d for tk
Society of Friends, founded in 1668, and rebuilt in 1 94'
with 90 sittings.
.
Th e C em etery, four acres in extent, is at the eD
of th e F air M ile, and was opened in 1868; it is u ^
the control of a B u rial Board of 9 members, an
^
chapel, in w hich divine service is held every bun
3 .15 p .m
f at the
Th e Old Town H all, w hich stood on the ascent a
west end of the M arket place, was erected in 79 ^
Mr. W illiam Bradshaw , a m em ber of the co p
and was in the C lassic style, with columns
^
Rom an-Doric o r d e r : the lower portion forming ^ qD
p ia z z a ; this b u ild in g was taken down in 1 9 ’
9
the site a new Town H all was erected in 1 99 j^jjee
cost of ¿12,000, to com m em orate the Diam