Founded in 1818, Leander Club is the world's oldest and most renowned rowing club. In the nineteenth century the Club was based in London and enjoyed much success during the early days of amateur rowing.

By the end of the nineteenth century, Henley's pre-eminence as a rowing venue led Leander to move its headquarters to its current site by Henley Bridge and the Club continued to thrive, both competitively and socially.

Since the 1970s, Leander has been at the forefront of the extraordinary resurgence of British rowing at International level. Through its policy of identifying and nurturing young rowing talent, Leander oarsmen and oarswomen have earned regular success at the Olympics and World Championships. In recent years the Club has been home to Olympic giants such as Sir Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell and Tim Foster, guided by a world-class coaching team under Jurgen Gröbler and Mark Banks. The Club continues to develop young talent, as evidenced by additional success at World under-23 and World Junior levels.

Leander's membership, which stands at over 3000, comprises distinguished past and present British and overseas oarsmen and oarswomen, together with those who have given special service to the sport of rowing. Additionally, there are a limited number of Associate Members who make regular use of the Club's social, accommodation and meeting facilities.