Glass plate negative of Eel Bucks at Maidenhead Bridge.

Eels were once a very popular food and large quantities were sold at Billingsgate, London's famous fish market. Many eels were caught on the Thames using large wicker baskets known as eel bucks, which were fixed to wooden posts to form a fishing weir. The bucks would be raised out of the water to retrieve the eels from the narrow neck. These structures faced upstream to catch mature adult eels returning to the sea.

Photograph from the George Bushell Collection.

George Bushell came to Henley in 1919 and took over the task of taking photographs of Henley and its surroundings from two predecessors, called Marsh and Marshall. Bushell died in the 1960s but his business was carried on by his son and grandson. It is his grandson, also called George Bushell, who has donated this important collection of photographs and glass plate negatives to the Museum. This unique collection provides a fascinating view of the changing face of Henley and the Thames over the last century.

Part of negative set number 62 in George Bushell's notebook