Episode 2 of 3

Initial Finish Line at Henley Bridge

When: 1839
Where: Henley Bridge
Part of: Event of 1839: The first Henley Royal Regatta is held on the River Thames, in Henley-on-Thames,

At the first regatta in 1839, the finish line was Henley Bridge itself, an arrangement with inherent problems. From 1840 onward the finish was moved downstream slightly.

The 1839 regatta finished at Henley Bridge itself, though this was presumably quickly realised to have inherent problems. From 1840 onward the finish was moved downstream slightly, and eventually a point opposite the lawn of the Red Lion Hotel became the standard finish line. The passages date only the initial 1839 arrangement; the downstream relocation is described as ongoing from 1840 rather than a change made in a specific year.

Sources

Henley Royal Regatta Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-04

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.