The closure of the River & Rowing Museum last September was a real loss for the town, but its story is far from finished. The building is now on the market — a cool £3 million if you happen to have it lying around — and interest is reportedly strong with numerous expressions of interest including community, leisure, property and educational groups. River House Henley, has launched its #henleysaysyes campaign as part of their bid. The River House team have been working with architects, structural engineers, designers and a number of local partners for over a year to bring to life the concept – ‘Designed for wellness – made for family”.

A second locally based group, The Museum Henley, has also stepped forward with a vision to create the town’s first social‑enterprise community hub: “Community. Creativity. Opportunity.” They have said that they are exploring viability into an immediate opening should they win the bid, and to breathe life and soul back into the space and immediately offer revised offerings of their long term plans. They do note “that is currently speculative as further understanding into urgent building repairs and finances of our social enterprise will ultimately determine the feasibility of this immediate opening”.

This is certainly an interesting space to watch where we’re sure more prospective bids will appear. The committee of trustees and Henley Town Council will be meeting in February to discuss all expressions of interest.

Whilst interest grows around what the existing building may look like in the future, the Henley Archaeological & Historical Group are actively looking for a site, venue or space that could house a new look small scale Henley museum.

What would you like the River & Rowing Museum building to be?

Image © River House Henley. Used with permission