New ceramic mug with river scenes to mark 185th year of royal regatta

A MUG has been created to mark the 185th year of Henley Royal Regatta.

Ceramics company Emma Bridgewater worked with staff at the regatta headquarters to create the limited-edition mug.

The black, blue and white design depicts iconic landmarks of the regatta course, including Temple Island and the boat tents as well as scenic riverside trees.

There is also an abstract drawing of a rowing boat taken from an engraving on the Prince Albert Challenge Cup.

The trophy was designed and made by the silversmith Hector Miller and is awarded to the winner of the men’s student crews in coxed fours.

It is named after Prince Albert, who became the first royal patron of the regatta in 1851. The cup was accepted by the regatta in the presence of the late Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in June 2006.

The earthenware pottery mug also features the year of the first regatta as well as the current date. It will be on sale at the regatta shop this summer for £28.

Katrina Falinska, retail manager at the Henley Royal Regatta, said the staff sent inspirational pictures to the designer at the end of last year.

She said: “We sent across all sorts of ideas, lots of different images of trophies and the boat tents. They came up with the design. It was the only one they came up with and we loved it so it was a very easy process.”

Emma Bridgewater last collaborated with them on a mug to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the event in 2014 and that sold out. The design featured rowers racing on the Thames with spectators cheering them on from both banks as well as umpire boats, Henley Bridge and the houses in Wharfe Lane.

Ms Falinska said: “We worked with them 10 years ago on that mug and members and everybody loved it so it was a no-brainer to do it again.”

The Emma Bridgewater team said the design of the mug was inspired by the stylish and “slightly art deco atmosphere” of the “quintessentially English summer festival”.

A spokeswoman said: “In designing the mug, we looked at various components at the core of the regatta and continued in that visual language in the water of the Thames.

“The river is lined with pollarded willows, which represent the importance of the natural world in this very English river environment. Emma Bridgewater has always celebrated and recorded events in the British calendar and particularly ones with royal connections with a stylish back story.

“To design and produce the mug takes time. The drawing took days of research then there were days of drawing, preparing for print and getting the colours right, then producing a fired sample to approve before bulk printing.

“All in all, it was about four months from start to finish.”

The regatta shop is currently taking pre-orders for the mug on its website.

Last year the regatta mug that was part of the “deckchair collection” sold out within two days.

• While it is 185 years since the inaugural regatta, this is not the 185th consecutive year of racing as the event was suspended during the world war years and the covid-19 pandemic.