Maps
Map:
Val Wyatt Boatyard
Wargrave Boating Club
Right Bank
Hennerton Backwater Entry
Right Bank
On the right bank just above the George & Dragon was a boatyard which has now been redeveloped as flats. From the Henley Standard, June 2008 -
The Riverstation is situated on the edge of the village, set back from the road on the riverbank adjacent to the St George and Dragon restaurant, and is newly constructed and immaculately presented, with furnishings by Brook House in Henley. Many of the rooms have wonderful river views, with underfloor heating which is independently controlled in each room. The principal living area on the ground floor is arranged around a vaulted central reception hall with a floating wooden staircase, Velux-style windows and glazed doors, leading onto a split level sun deck which overlooks the river, and can be reached from most of the rooms.
The 'Riverstation' flats looking downstream to the entry into Hennerton Backwater in the distance.
1910: Wargrave in Thames Villages by Charles Harper.
Map: The George & Dragon, Wargrave
Right Bank
Former Lashbrook Ferry?
The George and Dragon website
The current here is sufficient to set up a continual vibration in a punt pole.
Site of Wargrave Ferry.
Fred Thacker thought this was The George & Dragon Ferry
1870: Wargrave Ferry, Henry Taunt -
Wargrave Ferry, Henry Taunt, 1870
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; HT1501
1911: George and Dragon, Wargrave, lantern slide by W Parker -
George and Dragon, Wargrave, lantern slide by W Parker, 1911
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; D230324a
1890: Wargrave Ferry, Francis Frith -
1890: Wargrave Ferry, Francis Frith
It is no longer (except during Wargrave regatta!)
2006: Wargrave Ferry during Wargrave Regatta
1881: George Leslie -
At Wargrave, the river, which has been running nearly north and south all the way between here and Henley, takes a smart turn to the west, away towards Reading; this turn makes the difficulties of punting rather great just at the bend, and I know no greater test of a punter’s skill, than in coming down from the railway bridge to bring up handsomely without any hitch or contretemps, at Mrs. Wyatt’s wharf, on which the whole stream from the west pours its strength.
1906 -
St George and the Dragon, Wargrave, Mortimer Menpes, 1906
The signs now in use again in 2004 are the
original signs painted by George Leslie and his friend Hodgson in the 1870s and
mentioned by George Leslie himself
in his book "Our River", 1881, by Charles Dickens junior in 1885,
by Jerome K Jerome in 1889, and by Miss Mitton in 1906.
1881: Leslie -
You cannot do better than stop and have lunch at the “George
and Dragon”…
It was during our stay at Wargrave this year that my friend
Mr Hodgson and I repainted Mrs Wyatt’s signboard for her – the “George and
Dragon”. I painted my side first, a
regular orthodox St George on a white horse, spearing the dragon.
Hodgson was so taken with the idea of
painting a signboard that he asked me to be allowed to do the other side, to
which I of course consented, and as he could only stop at Wargrave one day he
managed to do it on that day; indeed it
occupied him little more than a couple of hours.
The idea of his composition was suggested by
Signor Pellegrini, the well-known artist of “Vanity Fair”;
the picture represented St George,
having vanquished the dragon, and dismounted from his horse, quenching his
thirst in a large beaker of ale. These
pictures were duly hung up soon after, and very much admired;
they have since had a coat of boat
varnish, and look very old masterly.
Hodgson’s, which gets the sun on it, is a little faded, but mine, which
faces the north towards Henley, still looks pretty fresh.
There were some paragraphs about this sign in
“The World”, the editor of which was staying at Wargrave at the time, and one
of these was printed in gold type, and presented to Mrs Wyatt,
and hangs up in the inn parlour.
1885: Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames -
Wargrave ... a pleasant village on the road from Twyford to Henley, both stations on the
Great Western Railway in the middle of a first-rate fishing district,
and highly popular amongst artists.
Public evidence of the latter fact is afforded by the sign of the principal inn
of the village, the "George and Dragon".
Here Mr G D Leslie, R.A. has depicted the terrific encounter between the saint
and the reptile; and on the other side Mr J E Hodgson R.A. has limned St George,
his work concluded, his spear stuck in the ground, taking his pint of beer with a thoroughly
comic air of complacent content ...
1884: The Upper Thames, Harpers New Monthly Magazine -
The old-fashioned house, with sanded floor and pewter cups, has probably not changed its fashions and habits for half a century, or even a hundred years. In the principal parlor there is the kind of old mahogany spider-legged sideboard which Boughton and other artists cherish in their new homes. On the walls are preserved fish of noble weight which have been taken from the river by fortunate anglers. We prepared to sip the “boatman’s nectar” in the little arbor outside the inn, and to watch an artist, who was moored in a punt almost in mid-stream, busily catching the changing lights that were gradually melting into “the gloaming”.
1889: Jerome K Jerome -
Mellowed
in the drowsy sunlight of a summer's afternoon, Wargrave, nestling where the
river bends, makes a sweet old picture as we pass it, and one that lingers long
upon the retina of memory.
The "George and Dragon" at Wargrave boasts a sign, painted on the one
side by Leslie, R.A., and on the other by Hodgson of
that ilk. Leslie has depicted the fight;
Hodgson has imagined the scene, "After the Fight" - George, the work
done, enjoying his pint of beer.
1891: The Stream of Pleasure, Joseph & Elizabeth Robins Pennell-
Wargrave bears an air of propriety, as befits the last resting-place of the
creator of "Sandford and Merton". Carriages with liveried footmen roll by on the village
street, upon which new Queen Anne houses open their doors.
The artistc respectability of "The George and Dragon" is vouched for by its painted sign,
the not very wonderful work of two R.A's.[sic]
On each side [sic] the inn, lawns slope down from private houses, and boats lie moored
along the shore. And, as if to show they are not common folk, the boating men of Wargrave
go so far as to make themselves ugly and wear a little soldier cap stuck on one side of
their heads.
...
In the quiet of the evening it was pleasant to pull back to "The George and Dragon" in time
to see the sun sink, a ball of fire, below the wide stretch of golden meadowland opposite,
where villagers played cricket after their day's work.
1906: G.E.Mitton -
The river turns almost a right angle at Wargrave, and, from running eastward, goes due north. The little village, being situated at the bend, gets the benefit of both vistas. The George Hotel, indeed, stands exactly at the angle, and the sweep of the water catches its wharf with full force. It boasts a signboard painted by two R.A.s; this is preserved indoors, while another swings as its proxy in the village street. Placed as it is in regard to the river channel, and with the wide flats of Shiplake meadows opposite, the hotel is exposed, and the very openness of its garden, an attraction which draws hundreds of summer visitors, makes it a butt for the racing winds of early spring. It is a pretty hotel built of brick, with a white painted verandah, after the usual river pattern; and a gigantic wistaria embowers all the front in its delicate mauve in summer, while roses trained over trellis work flash answering colour signals.
Leslie: "The Fight"
Hodgson "After the Fight"
[ These photos of the signs have been considerably enhanced. The originals are badly cracked and discoloured. The photographs, from which the above signs were reconstructed, show the problems - ]
Vanishing Britain, P H Ditchfield -
The art of painting signboards is almost lost, and when they have to be renewed sorry attempts are made to imitate the old designs. Some celebrated artists have not thought it below their dignity to paint signboards. Some have done this to show their gratitude to their kindly host and hostess for favours received when they sojourned at inns during their sketching expeditions. The "George" at Wargrave has a sign painted by the distinguished painters Mr. George Leslie, R.A., and Mr. Broughton, R.A., who, when staying at the inn, kindly painted the sign, which is hung carefully within doors that it may not be exposed to the mists and rains of the Thames valley. St. George is sallying forth to slay the dragon on the one side, and on the reverse he is refreshing himself with a tankard of ale after his labours. Not a few artists in the early stages of their career have paid their bills at inns by painting for the landlord.
[ George Leslie himself says the second side was painted by Hodgson, not Broughton.
The signs are now once again in use outside behind glass. I hope this means
that some thought has been given to their preservation from damp and also
from light. These are valuable paintings! ]
The original sign in 2006
The new sign in 2006
I have seen somewhere - maybe in the bar at the George and Dragon - a cartoon of a
timorous drunk approaching a right hag of a barmaid -
and he is saying "Is George in?"
If anybody has it could they send me a copy?
1826: The Henley Guide Full text & prints
WARGRAVE is a large village, situated on the banks of the Thames,
which (combining with the beautiful range of hills leading
towards Park Place,) furnishes a number of pleasing
views.
This, in early times, was a market town, and,
prior to the conquest, was given by Queen Emma to the
Bishop of Winchester. It continued in that see till the
reign of Edward the Sixth, when Doctor Poynett presented
it to the King, who gave it to Henry Neville.
Queen Mary resumed the grant, and again vested it in
the see of Winchester; but Elizabeth restored it to
Neville, from whom it descended to his posterity, the
present Nevilles of Billingbear.
This village received an adventitious lustre from having
been the residence of the late Earl of Barrymore, who
had a seat in it, and erected a magnificent theatre there,
at an expense of more than £6000. This splendid fabric
was crowded on the evenings of representation, by
audiences composed of the first families in the kingdom ;
and possessed every accommodation of a royal theatre,
with the addition of a superb apartment, where the
Earl's supper parties were entertained. After the death
of the noble but inconsiderate owner, the building
was taken down and the materials sold.
Above the village, and on a commanding eminence,
stands Wargrave Hill House, the mansion of Mr. Hussey.
This house was formerly the residence of Mr. Hill, the
friend of Cowper ; and here that poet spent much of his
time. The mansion forms a very conspicuous and
pretty object, from whichever side it is viewed.
The modern mansion, Henerton House, the seat and
creation of Mr. Johnson, is embosomed in woods, and
is one of the greatest ornaments to this part of the river,
commanding most delightful views of the country in every
direction, particularly towards Reading and Henley.
...
Wargrave church is large, but not handsome. On
the north side is a Saxon door-way, hidden by a porch
of brick. It contains some memorials of the family of
Stevens, and of the Aldworths, paternal ancestors of
Lord Braybrooke.
There is also a monument for Mr.
Thomas Day, author of "Sandford and Merton", and
other publications. He lost his life by a fall from his
horse, as he was riding from his house in Surrey, to his
mother's, at Bear-Hill, in this parish. The monument
is inscribed with the following epitaph :
In memory of
Thomas Day, Esq.
who died September 28, 1789, aged 41 years;
after having promoted, by the energy of his writings,
and encouraged, by the uniformity of his example,
the unremitted exercise of every public and private virtue.
Beyond the reach of Time, or Fortune's power,
Remain, cold stone, remain, and mark the hour,
When all the noblest gifts which heaven e'er gave,
Were centered in a dark, untimely grave.
Oh ! taught on Reason's boldest wings to rise,
And catch each glimmering of the opening skies
Oh ! gentle bosom ! oh ! unsullied mind !
Oh ! friend to truth, to virtue, to mankind ;
Thy dear remains we trust to this sad shrine,
Secure to feel no second loss like thine.
The verses were written by himself, for some other occasion, and placed here by his widow, who thought them peculiarly applicable to his own character.
1885: Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames has some details about Wargrave Church and a bequest, which is then quoted by Jerome K Jerome four years later -
On the south wall of the church is a monumental tablet to Mr Day,
the author of "Sandford and Merton", who lived, and was killed by a fall from his horse,
in Wargrave Parish ...
Among the bequests is on by Mrs Sarah Hill, who left £1 annually to be given at Easter
in new crown pieces to two boys and two girls.
No boy is to have the reward who is undutiful to his parents,
was ever heard to swear, to tell untruths, to steal, to break windows,
or to do any kind of mischief.
Any boy who would have the courage to lay claim to this reward,
and could conscientiously say that he had fulfilled all the necessary conditions, must,
one would think, be a lineal descendant of the exasperating Master Sandford himself.
1889: Three Men in a Boat, Jerome K Jerome -
Day, the
author of SANDFORD AND MERTON, lived and - more credit to the place still - was
killed at Wargrave.
In the church is a memorial to Mrs. Sarah Hill,
who bequeathed one pound annually, to be divided at Easter, between two boys and
two girls who "have never been undutiful to their parents and who have never been
known to swear or to tell untruths,
to steal, or to break windows"
Fancy giving up all that for five shillings a year! It is not worth it.
[ They keep going on about
THE HISTORY OF SANDFORD AND MERTON by
Thomas Day (1748-1789)
Thomas was a somewhat eccentric figure.
"The history of Sandford and Merton" was intended to help children's morals, though it must also have given pleasure to a great many children, with its mixture of adventure, natural history, stories and practical information on subjects such as baking, house building, the principles of the lever, etc. While Harry Sandford is very good and rather boring, Tommy Merton is naughty, snobbish, disobedient, untruthful, lazy, accident prone, and a much more interesting character altogether.
Thomas Day's death was typical of his life - he died in September 1789 aged 41.
Adhering to his philosophy of treating animals with kindness
he was thrown from a horse he was training and died from his injuries.
He recruited young girls with a view to marrying them ...
1906: A R Hope Moncrieff, "Surrey" -
[after his death] then the wife whom he had chosen with so much scrupulosity, after pupils trained for that post had failed to pass his examination of trying ordeals, showed herself a worthy helpmeet by spending the rest of her life in heart-broken seclusion.
Wargrave Regatta
Wargrave Village Slip
Right Bank, Narrow, canoes only?
Wargrave Water, Right Bank, unpowered only, no way through.
Wargrave Church, Right Bank -
Wargrave Church, Mortimer Menpes, 1906
Wargrave Marina
Probably better suited to larger boats - no casual slipway. John Bushnell Ltd
(Upstream to Shiplake Railway Bridge)
Estuary
PLA
QEII Br
Barrier
Tower Br
Custom Ho
London Br
; Frost Fairs
Cannon St Rb
The Great Stink
Southwark Br
Millenium Br
Blackfriars Rb
Blackfriars Br
Waterloo Br
Charing Cross Rb
Westminster Br
Lambeth Br
Vauxhall Br
Victoria Rb
Chelsea Br
Albert Br
Battersea Br
Battersea Rb
Wandsworth Br
Fulham Rb
Putney Br
Hammersmith Br
Barnes Rb
Chiswick Br
Kew Rb
Kew Br
RICHMOND
Twickenham Br
Richmond Rb
Richmond Br
TEDDINGTON
Kingston Rb
Kingston Br
Ditton Slip
Hampton Br
MOLESEY
SUNBURY
Walton Br
Desborough Cut
SHEPPERTON
Chertsey Br
CHERTSEY
M3 Br
Laleham Slip
PENTON HOOK
Staines Rb
Staines Br
Runnymede Br
BELL WEIR
Magna Carta Is
OLD WINDSOR
Albert Br
Datchet
Victoria Br
Black Potts Rb
ROMNEY
Eton
Windsor Br
Windsor Rb
Windsor Slip
Elizabeth Br
BOVENEY
Dorney Lake
York Cut
Summerleaze Fb
MonkeyIsland
New Thames Br
BRAY
Bray Slip
Maidenhead Rb
Maidenhead Br
Below Boulters
BOULTERS
Cliveden
Hedsor
COOKHAM
Cookham Slip
Cookham Br
BourneEnd RFb
Quarry Woods
A404 Br
MARLOW
Marlow Br
Bisham
TEMPLE
HURLEY
Medmenham
Culham Ct
Aston Slip
HAMBLEDEN
Temple Is
Fawley Ct
Remenham
Regatta
Phyllis Ct
Henley Slip
Leander
Red Lion
Henley Br
Angel on Br
Landing
Hobbs Boatyard
Hobbs Slipway
MARSH
Hennerton
Bolney
Wargrave
Shiplake Rb
R.Loddon
SHIPLAKE
Sonning Br
SONNING
Dreadnought
K&A Canal
CAVERSHAM
Reading Br
Caversham Br
Reading Slip
Purley
MAPLEDURHAM
Hardwick Ho
Whitchurch Br
WHITCHURCH
Hartswood Reach
Gatehampton Rb
Goring Gap
Goring Br
GORING
Swan
CLEEVE
Moulsford
Moulsford Rb
Papist Way Slip
Winterbrook Br
Wallingford Br
BENSON
Shillingford Br
R.Thame
DAYS
Burcot
Clifton Hampden
Clifton Church
Clifton H Br
Barley Mow
Long Wittenham
CLIFTON
Appleford Rb
Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Br
CULHAM
Culham Cut Fb
Abingdon Slip
Abingdon
Abingdon Br
ABINGDON
Nuneham Rb
Nuneham
Nuneham Park
Radley Boats
SANDFORD
Rose Island
Kennington Rb
Isis Br
Iffley Mill
IFFLEY
Oxford Rowing
Isis
Donnington Br
Riverside Slip
Boathouses
Punting
Lower Cherwell
Upper Cherwell
Islip
Head of River
Salters Steamers
Folly Br
Bacons Folly
Oxford Fb
Osney Fb
Weir stream
Osney Rb
Bullstake Stream
Osney Marina
OSNEY
Osney Br
Four Rivers
OLD RIVER
CANAL
Medley Weir Site
Medley Fb
Bossoms
Perch
Trout
GODSTOW
Godstow Nunnery
Godstow Br
Thames Br
KINGS
River Evenlode
EYNSHAM
Swinford Br
Oxford Cruisers
PINKHILL
Farmoor
Stanton Harcourt
Bablock Slip
Arks Weir Site
NORTHMOOR
Harts Fb
//Rose Revived
Newbridge
//Maybush
River Windrush
below Shifford
SHIFFORD
Shifford Fb
Tenfoot Fb
Trout Inn
Tadpole Br
RUSHEY
Old Mans Fb
RADCOT
Radcot Cradle Fb
Swan Inn
Radcot New Br
Radcot Old Br
GRAFTON
Eaton Hastings
Kelmscott
Eaton Fb
BUSCOT
Bloomers Hole Fb
Trout Inn
St Johns Br
ST JOHNS
Halfpenny Br
Marina Slip
LIMIT
Inglesham
Hannington Br
Kempsford
Castle Eaton Br
Marston Meysey
A419 Br
Cricklade
SOURCE?
THAMES HEAD
SEVEN SPRINGS