HENLEY-ON-THAMES, a market town and municipal borough of Oxfordshire, England, on the left bank of the Thames, the terminus of a branch of the Great Western railway, by which it is 354 m. W. of London, while it is S7i m. by river. Pop. (t 93r) 6,618. It is situated at the foot of the Chiltern hills. The river is crossed by a stone bridge of five arches, constructed in 1786. The parish church (Decorated and Perpendicular) pos sesses a tower of intermingled flint and stone, attributed to Cardi nal Wolsey, but more probably erected by Bishop Longland. The grammar school, founded in 16o5, is incorporated with a Blue Coat school. Henley is celebrated for the annual Henley Royal Regatta, the principal gathering of amateur oarsmen in England, first held in 1839 and usually taking place in July.
Henley-on-Thames (Hanlegang, Henle, Handley) was a manor of the crown and was granted (1337) to John de Molyns, whose family held it for about 25o years. It is said that members for Henley sat in parliaments of Edward I. and Edward III., but no writs have been found. The town was incorporated in 157o-71. Henley suffered from both parties in the Civil War. William III. on his march to London (1688) rested here and received a depu tation 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. It is now a centre for market-gardening. The existing Thursday market was granted by a charter of John and the existing Corpus Christi fair by a charter of Henry VI.