RISING COSTS FORCE MUSEUM TO CLOSE

THE River & Rowing Museum will close its doors for the last time in September after struggling to keep up with rising costs.

Having recorded a £1m loss in the financial year ending in March, the foundation trust said it had made the “extremely difficult” decision to close while it still had some funds.

It said that the decision was made with the view to possibly creating a new, smaller museum once a new operator is found for the existing building in Mill Meadows.

The trust is also exploring the future of its four core collections — Henley, River, Rowing and John Piper, which comprises more than 35,000 artefacts.

It has confirmed the last day of operation would be Sunday, September 21, coinciding with the Heritage Open Days festival.

Kevin Sandhu, the museum’s interim director, said that a plan formed under the previous director, Steve O’Connor, to break even by 2027 had seen “pockets of success” but ultimately failed to keep up with rising costs.

The plan was conceived after the museum recorded a deficit of £1,159,100 in 2022/23.

While it reduced its deficit by 24 per cent by the end of the following financial year museum trustees announced in February that it was still too costly and were exploring new options.

Mr Sandhu said that an increase in national insurance costs and energy bills had added to the museum’s financial struggles.

He said: “We have explored different ways of operating the café, the shop, we have done some letting and we have been trying to boost the commercial side as well.

“That had some success, like the school visits, we have 4,000 schoolchildren annually that the schools pay a nominal amount for, but it’s just not enough to cover the costs.

“The decision has been made while there are still enough funds to do a closure and a move of our artefacts rather than hanging on another year or two, at which point we would be facing possible bankruptcy.”

Mr Sandhu said the foundation was “urgently” seeking a new operator for the building.

He said that the foundation is exploring opening on a smaller scale, occupying part of the museum or finding another space.

The building, designed by modernist architect Sir David Chipperfield, has a total floor space area of almost one acre.

Mr Sandhu said: “The intention is to create a new, Henley-based museum. A lot of that is dependent on what outcome we are able to get from the site.”

Staff were told of the final decision to close last week. He said that existing bookings for schools and event space in September would be honoured.

The foundation is also exploring options to deliver its river education programme in schools and alternate venues.

David Worthington, who chairs the trustees, said: “The quality of the original concept cannot be underestimated.

“However, ultimately, the venture was just too ambitious — six galleries, multiple public spaces, two classrooms, a 5,000 sq ft storage facility and a 35,000-plus object collection. It was just too much.

“Everyone has tried to make it work — and on one level we have — it has been a great museum, lauded when opened, enjoyed by well over two million people, remembered by second and third generations and more than 100,000 schoolchildren. But in the end, however exciting it might have been, whatever changes might have been made, the financial challenge was simply too great.”

The museum was officially opened by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1998.