Uncertainty over artefacts as museum closes

The museum, situated on the banks of the River Thames, will close on Sunday

The future of 35,000 artefacts remains uncertain, with the museum they are currently housed in opening its doors to the public for a final time on Sunday.

The River and Rowing Museum in Henley on-Thames, Oxfordshire, which first opened in 1998, announced in July it would be shutting due to financial pressure.

Among its collections are stories about the River Thames, its flora and fauna, rowing and the culture and history of the local area.

Kevin Sandhu, the museum's director, said the closure was the "end of an era", adding there was "lots of emotion".

"It is a sad feeling but, at the same time, we feel that there is a lot to celebrate in terms of what the museum has achieved and brought to the community over the years," he said.

Kevin Sandhu said Sunday would mark the "end of an era"

The museum is home to "broadly three collections - the river, the rowing, and Henley itself and the history of the town," said Mr Sandhu.

The future of the exhibits remains uncertain.

"The idea would be to keep all of those collections together, though with 35,000 things - including some rather large boats - that may not be practically possible," the museum director said.

"What follows next will be exploring other ways and possible future destinations for those collections but there's still more work to be done on fleshing out the details."

On the future of the museum itself, Mr Sandhu said: "We are still developing ideas and plans for what may emerge after we close this site, which may mean a new site, but that's still in its early stages."

To mark its final weekend open to the public, special events were being held across Saturday and Sunday in the museum's galleries, with entry free to visitors.