THE PLACE: "The building committee, chaired by Sir Harold Gillett, Lord Mayor of London, purchased the site in 1956, and assigned Ralph Tubbs to design the house in the modern architectural style. The Foundation Stone was laid in 1959 by World Chief Guide Olave, Lady Baden-Powell, and it was opened in 1961 by Queen Elizabeth II. The largest part of the £400,000 cost was provided by the Scout Movement itself. Over the years, the house has been refurbished several times, so that it now provides modern and affordable lodging for Scouts, Guides, their families and the general public staying in London. The building also hosts conference and event space for hire.
The Baden-Powell House has a "Small exhibition of Lord Baden-Powell's life in scouting, with artifacts and a souvenir counter. The building, opened in 1961, as a living memorial to Baden-Powell it was originally paid for by scouts around the world. Outside the building is a statue of Baden-Powell by Don Potter; this is the only granite statue in London. Now it has developed into a modern 180-bedded hotel and conference centre with 8 conference suites on its upper floors." (
visit link)
"With special Scout atmosphere, Baden-Powell House provides a hostel and conference centre for people visiting London. Although the building is still owned by The Scout Association, this is run by separate German company Meininger Hotels. However, as part of the arrangement with this company Scout members from the UK and abroad are able to stay at Baden-Powell House at a reduced rate. Baden-Powell House is also run as a conference and event space and is available to hire by companies and private individuals for meetings, training and events. Any income generated from Baden-Powell House is put back into Scouting, benefitting young people across the UK and beyond.
Located in the middle of London's visitor area, known as Exhibition Road, it is in short walking distance of the Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Royal Albert Hall and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The full address is 65–67 Queen's Gate, London SW7 5JS, reachable by public transportation through South Kensington tube station and Gloucester Road tube station. In the period 2004–2006 the hostel participated in the Youth Hostel Association, after which the Scout Association entered into an agreement with Meininger City Hostels. Baden-Powell House is rated Four Star by the Visit Britain Quality Assurance, and Mobility Level 1; also recent visitors rate it on average 4 out of 5.
The hostel and conference centre is entered through a wide glazed atrium which serves as a large foyer containing the cafe and some Scouting displays. From the atrium the large hall is reached which can serve as an auditorium with seating for up to 300 people. The first floor has a restaurant seating 100 guests; the second floor has meeting rooms, and conference facilities for groups up to 80 delegates per room. The upper floors contain 180 hostel bedrooms. Baden-Powell House was designed specifically for members of the Scout Movement. Nonetheless, it has always been fully open to family members of Scouts at reduced prices and to the general public at competitive commercial rates. In an average year, 30 thousand people spend the night, and 100 thousand meals are served in the restaurant. A selection of souvenir badges and other Baden-Powell House merchandise can be purchased from the reception desk.
From 1974 to 2001, Baden-Powell House was the headquarters of The Scout Association, for which a dedicated extension to the house was completed in 1976. In April 2001, the headquarters formally moved to new accommodation at Gilwell Park. As the owner of Baden-Powell House, The Scout Association receives a net income out of the revenues of approximately £1.5 million.
Baden-Powell House is one of two conference centres owned by The Scout Association, along with its sister venue (and headquarters) Gilwell Park in Chingford." (
visit link)
THE PERSON: "Lord Baden-Powell, was a lieutenant-general in the British Army, writer, founder and Chief Scout of the Scout Movement. After having been educated at Charterhouse School, Baden-Powell served in the British Army from 1876 until 1910 in India and Africa. In 1899, during the Second Boer War in South Africa, Baden-Powell successfully defended the town in the Siege of Mafeking. Several of his military books, written for military reconnaissance and scout training in his African years, were also read by boys. Based on those earlier books, he wrote Scouting for Boys, published in 1908 by Sir Arthur Pearson, for youth readership. In 1907, he held the first Brownsea Island Scout camp, which is now seen as the beginning of Scouting.
Baden-Powell served in the Fourth Ashanti War in Gold Coast. In 1897, at the age of 40, he was brevetted colonel (the youngest colonel in the British Army) and given command of the 5th Dragoon Guards in India. A few years later he wrote a small manual, entitled Aids to Scouting, a summary of lectures he had given on the subject of military scouting, to help train recruits. Using this and other methods he was able to train them to think independently, use their initiative, and survive in the wilderness.
Baden-Powell returned to South Africa prior to the Second Boer War and was engaged in further military actions against the Zulus. He organised the Legion of Frontiersmen to assist the regular army. While engaged in this, he was at Mafeking when it was surrounded by a Boer army, at times in excess of 8,000 men.
Baden-Powell became garrison commander during the subsequent Siege of Mafeking, which lasted 217 days. Although greatly outnumbered, the garrison held out until relieved, in part thanks to cunning deceptions devised by Baden-Powell. Fake minefields were planted and his soldiers pretended to avoid non-existent barbed wire while moving between trenches. Baden-Powell did most of the reconnaissance work himself. In one instance noting that the Boers had not removed the rail line, Baden-Powell loaded an armoured locomotive with sharpshooters and successfully sent it down the rails into the heart of the Boer encampment and back again in a strategic attempt to decapitate the Boer leadership.
On his return from Africa in 1903, Baden-Powell found that his military training manual, Aids to Scouting, had become a best-seller, and was being used by teachers and youth organisations. Following his involvement in the Boys' Brigade as Brigade Secretary and Officer in charge of its scouting section, with encouragement from his friend, William Alexander Smith, Baden-Powell decided to re-write Aids to Scouting to suit a youth readership. In August 1907 he held a camp on Brownsea Island to test out his ideas. About twenty boys attended: eight from local Boys' Brigade companies, and about twelve public school boys, mostly sons of his friends.
Baden-Powell (
visit link) was also influenced by Ernest Thompson Seton, who founded the Woodcraft Indians. Seton gave Baden-Powell a copy of his book The Birch Bark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians and they met in 1906. The first book on the Scout Movement, Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys was published in six instalments in 1908, and has sold approximately 150 million copies as the fourth best-selling book of the 20th century." (
visit link)