Collection: River and Rowing Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  The River & Rowing Museum was granted provisional museum registration status in 1994, when building work on the new museum had just commenced. Unusually there were no existing collections for the new museum to display; all the exhibits required for the planned galleries were acquired during the period 1995 – 1998. The collections were assembled to help interpret the Museum’s three themes of the River Thames, the international sport of Rowing and the history of the town of Henley on Thames, in accordance with an agreed collecting policy.

  Objects were acquired by purchase, donation or loans from individuals, organisations and other museums. Assembling collections for a museum not yet built, in the shadow of the sale of the collections from Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum, meant that many items were initially offered on loan in case the project did not succeed. Some of these loans have been converted into gifts now that the Museum is established.

  The collection has developed significantly since the Museum officially opened in 1998. The rowing collection is now believed to the largest of its kind in the world. Its development has been due in large part to one of the museum’s founders, Christopher Dodd, a former rowing journalist who took on the role of Rowing Historian in the Curatorial Department once the Museum opened. The majority of the rowing library and the modern rowing collection has been acquired through him and his contacts. This includes the boat Steve Redgrave won his fifth consecutive gold medal in at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. The other significant contributor to the rowing collection is Thomas E Weil. Mr Weil is an American collector of rowing memorabilia and was a founding Trustee, serving on the Board until 2021. He has made two major donations of objects, once in 2003 and again in 2013.

  A significant part of the Henley collection came to the Museum from Henley Town Council (HTC) and remains on loan from them. This includes some archival items, although the public record office holds the majority of the council’s archive documents.

  The fine art collection remains relatively small but the Museum has made some major acquisitions and several commissions since opening. The painting ‘Henley from the Wargrave Road’, 1698 by Jan Siberechts was purchased with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Art Fund in 2001. Following major retrospectives of the work of local artist John Piper in 2000 and 2003 work was acquired. ‘String Solo’, 1934 was donated to the Museum by the Piper estate in lieu of tax in 2001, and ‘Ruined Castle’, 1984 in 2002. ‘Gate to the River’, 1940 was purchased in 2003.

  The Museum has commissioned two major pieces; the sculpture of Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent that stands in the Museum grounds was produced by Sean Henry in 2001 and the painting ‘Gollon at Henley’ was produced in 2008. Grant funding has also been sought for a series of fine art purchases relating to all three collections, in particular the Thames collection with purchases including work by Frederick Watts, Myles Birkett Foster, William Havell and Joseph Farington.

  Two major archaeological finds have also been added to the collection since 1998, a 12th Century logboat carbon dated to between 1110 and 1250AD and a gold coin hoard dating to the Iron Age. The logboat was discovered on the Shottesbrooke Estate in Berkshire. It was preserved and put on display at the Museum using funding from the Pilgrim Trust. The gold coin hoard was discovered by a local metal detectorist on the edge of Henley on Thames close to Grim’s Ditch and declared as a Treasure Find. It was purchased with the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. The Museum has also collected other local archaeological finds through the Portable Antiquities Scheme, including a late 13th – early 14th century seal matrix pendant owned by a local woman, Margarie Pevrel.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2016

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  Since 2021, the River & Rowing Museum has been undertaking a full audit of the entire collection. The numbers below were collated before the audit, and as such while the proportions of collection categories remain broadly the same, the exact numbers in some areas have changed. It will be updated upon completion of the audit.

  [Pre-2021] The Museum now has 22,105 accessioned items in its collection. Under the themes outlined above they largely fall into the following areas:

  • Archaeology, 417 items, 1.74%
  • Archive, Library & Maps, 5044 items, 28.6%
  • Costume & Textiles, 292 items, 1.65%
  • Decorative & Applied Art, 738 items, 4.18%
  • Fine Art, 997 items, 5.7%
  • Numismatics & Medals, 338 items, 1.92%
  • Oral History, 50 items, 0.28%
  • Photography & Video, 5126 items, 29%
  • Science & Industry, 533 items, 3.02%
  • Social History, 3993 items, 22.64%
  • Transport – Boats/Oars, 216 items, 1.22%

  The River & Rowing Museum collects on three major themes:

  1. The international sport of rowing
  2. The town of Henley-on-Thames and its surroundings
  3. The non-tidal River Thames

  We have the following significant collections:

  The Boat Collection–The RRM’s collection of boats is unique, encompassing prototype racing boats and craft traditionally used on the Thames. The criteria under which boats are added to the collection is that they have one or more of the following attributes:

  • innovation in design
  • association with outstanding athletes or performances
  • importance as an example of a type
  • educational value.

  The Thomas E. Weil Collection – A collection of rowing art, memorabilia, and literature, largely relating to Great Britain but including various international pieces. Including an extensive collection of trophies, carte de visite and cigarette cards. Items date from the 16th century to the present day.

  Thames Conservancy Collection – Archive from the Thames Conservancy (1857 – 1972) including minute books, maps, ledgers, lock keepers’ uniforms and equipment, and photographs.

  Henley Royal Regatta Archive – Collection of photographs, programmes, posters, memorabilia and souvenirs, entry badges, medals and trophies relating to the history of the Henley Royal Regatta (1839 – present)

  The Rowing Machine Collection – Collection of rowing machines that illustrates its development from the turn of the 20th century to the present day.

  The Brakspear Collection – Collection of objects and photographs relating to Brakspear’s Brewery while it was located in Henley on Thames.

  The Piper Collection – Largely a collection of archive material (catalogues, books, photographs) relating to the artist John Piper, includes original artwork for theatre scenery, paintings, prints, ceramics and sculpture.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2016

  Licence: CC BY-NC