‘It’s humiliating for statues of Olympians to be in car park’

A FORMER Henley mayor has made a call for statues of two of the town’s most decorated athletes to be relocated following the closure of the River & Rowing Museum.

Barry Wood, who lives in Peppard Common, said that the idea of leaving the statues of Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent in the car park of the museum was “humiliating”.

The bronze statues of the athletes were created by artist Sean Henry and were unveiled at the museum in Mill Meadows in January 2002.

The former Leander Club rowers, who competed together in the coxless pair, are among the most decorated athletes in the sport. Their partnership [as a pair] has produced three Olympic golds and seven World Championship golds.

The statues were installed at the museum following the pair’s success in the coxless four at the Sydney 2000 Games, where they took gold alongside James Cracknell and Tim Foster.

Mr Wood said the statues of the athletes deserved to be relocated to a more central location where they could be seen by residents and could attract tourists.

He said: “The key thing is that these people, Redgrave and Pinsent, represent 10 Olympic medals and more than 20 World Championship medals and that has never ever been done before, either in Henley or by an English person.

“So these people are exceptional by any standards, so we need to celebrate that and to have them in a lousy car park, it’s plain nondescript. I find it humiliating on their behalf. The statues of these two men are sitting there on the outside of town, does anyone actually care?” Mr Wood, who described Pinsent and Redgrave as “role models”, said that relocating the statue could help to encourage the next generation of local children.

He said: “I want our children and our kids in Henley to be able to see them on a daily basis and to be inspired by them.

“They are amazing role models that we should all aspire to.”

Mr Wood said that he was very saddened by the closure of the museum and that an effort needed to be made to ensure that certain parts of the museum’s collection remained in the town, such as the Henley exhibition.

He suggested that this could be located within the King’s Arms Barn, off Market Place, which is a owned by the town council.

Mr Wood said: “It’s got to be somewhere that every Henley citizen can access.” He also expressed concern that the Wind in the Willows exhibition could end up leaving the town. “As to what happens to the building, I don’t know,” he said. “I think it’s a tragedy. Will it be converted into flats? What a disgrace to Sir Martyn Arbib’s donation to this town.”

Mr Wood said the story of the museum should make people think about what they currently have.

He said: “The message for Henley is, like the museum, don’t assume the things are going to go on forever. Take the Kenton Theatre, the fourth-oldest theatre in the UK. It has been struggling and it has had to be supported by the town council.”

Kevin Sandhu, the interim managing director of the museum, said: It’s too early to say what will happen to the Redgrave and Pinsent statues but it would be good to think that in the fullness of time they will play a more central role in the town’s landscape.

“However, for now we have to concentrate on the future of all 35,000 objects in our collection, not just one or two.  Meanwhile, rest assured, the statues are safe and secure.”