Henley-on-Thames

Henley-on-Thames, a municipal borough of Oxfordshire, at the base of the Chiltern Hills, and on the left bank of the Thames, 8 miles NE. of Reading, 36 W. of London, and 24 SE. of Oxford by road (by river 47). The five-arch bridge was built in 1786 at a cost of £10,000; the parish church, Decorated in style, was restored in 1864; and the grammar-school was founded in 1605. Malting is a principal branch of industry; there are also breweries, and a considerable trade in corn, flour, and timber. The principal amateur regatta of England has been held here every summer since 1839. Pop. (1851) 2595; (1881) 4604; (1891) 4913. See ROWING; also J. S. Burn, A History of Henley-on-Thames (1861).