Hidden Henley

DURING the recent sunny weather this small riverside park called Singers Wharf has been exceptionally busy with visitors as well as locals.

One of my own earliest memories is of being taken by my mother to this spot to feed the swans and watch the steam boats drop their funnels to pass under Henley Bridge.

Today its popularity continues as it is so close to the bridge and alongside the Angel on the Bridge pub.

The name hints at Henley’s past as an important inland port when all along the river were wharfs where raw materials such as coal, metals and timber were loaded and unloaded for transport by river barges.

The Singer part of the name may have originated from a 19th century mayor who ran a grocers shop in Duke Street, and also gave his name to Singers Lane.