Fencing in Henley-on-Thames
Twenty minutes from us, and a different kind of garden entirely.
Henley is a short run from us and we are over there most weeks. The town sits in a bowl with the Thames through the middle and chalk hills on three sides, so the fencing problems here are not the ones we meet at home.
Most Henley work falls into two camps: terraced gardens on the hillsides that need the run stepped, and riverside boundaries on the flat that have to cope with water.
Gardens that fall away
Henley climbs. Gravel Hill, White Hill, the streets off St Andrew’s Road — plenty of gardens here drop a metre or more across a single run, and that changes how the fence gets built. You either rake the panels to follow the ground, which leaves wedge-shaped gaps underneath, or you step it: every bay set level, dropping in stages, with the gravel boards making up the difference.
Stepping is slower work. Post holes cut to different depths, more setting out, more cutting on site. It is the biggest single thing separating a quote up the hill from the same run down on the flat.
Stand at one end of the run and sight along it. If the far end is noticeably lower, pick Gentle. If you would not push a full barrow down it, pick Steep or Needs stepping. That one answer moves the price more than almost anything else you tell us.
Price it now →Regatta week, and the streets in between
The centre keeps its old street pattern — Hart Street, Friday Street, the lanes off Bell Street. Tight, mostly permit parking, and a load of concrete posts cannot sit outside your house all afternoon. We bring materials in one drop and start early.
The other thing worth saying out loud: do not book fencing for the first week of July. Getting a van through Henley during the Royal Regatta is not realistic and we would rather tell you now than cancel on you. Book either side of it and the job runs better.
What we build in Henley-on-Thames
All services →Closeboard / featheredge
The workhorse. Built on site, board by board. 20+ year life.
from £140/mPrice thisPanel (lap / waney)
Fast, tidy and kind to the wallet. Great for garden boundaries.
from £112/mPrice thisPicket
Cottage-front charm. Low, friendly, painted if you like.
from £116/mPrice thisSlatted / contemporary
Clean horizontal lines. The one architects ask for.
from £183/mPrice thisPost & rail (agricultural)
Paddocks, drives and field boundaries. Stock-proof options.
from £65/mPrice thisRepairs & replacement bays
Snapped posts, blown panels, storm damage. Sorted.
from £108/mPrice this
In and around Henley-on-Thames
All of these are a short run for us, and priced exactly the same as the town itself.
- Remenham
- Shiplake
- Harpsden
- Wargrave
- Lower Assendon
- Middle Assendon
- Bix
- Fawley
- Rotherfield Greys
- Binfield Heath
Henley-on-Thames questions
Can you work during Regatta week?
We would rather not, and neither would you. Deliveries cannot get near the centre and parking a van within carrying distance is hopeless. Book before the middle of June or after the middle of July and the same job takes a day less.
Our garden slopes. Stepped or raked?
Raked means the panels follow the ground at an angle, which suits post and rail or a closeboard run built board by board. Stepped means each bay sits level and drops at the post, which is the only sensible answer for panels. On a steep Henley garden we almost always step it, and we will show you which we have allowed for.
We are on the flood plain. What do you use?
Concrete posts and concrete gravel boards, so nothing structural sits in water when the Thames comes up. Timber goes above the flood line. It costs more at the start and saves replacing the run after the first bad winter.
Is Henley a conservation area?
Much of the town centre is, and there are a great many listed buildings across Hart Street, New Street and Bell Street. Permitted development still gives you 2m, or 1m where the fence meets a road, but listing and conservation status can tighten that. If your job looks like one that needs a word with South Oxfordshire District Council, we will say so before we start.
More of the general ones on the FAQ page.