HENLEY-ON-THAMES

town ("parish"), South Oxfordshire district, administrative and historic county of Oxfordshire, England, on the left bank of the River Thames. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, where the river is crossed by a fine stone bridge (1786). The old town (incorporated 1526) has a medieval church and a wide market street. Georgian buildings are also well represented. The old town serves as the shopping centre of the modern riverside resort and residential town, which is especially famous as a rowing centre. The Henley Royal Regatta, which dates from 1839, is visited annually in July by international oarsmen. Pop. (1991) 10,558.