_____Witley Scouts & Guides_____
http://www.david.burrows.btinternet.co.uk/
_____Witley Scouts & Guides_____
In partnership with
Witley C. of E. Infant School
Presents Fundraising & Building of the new
Jubilee Hall
Church Lane, Witley, Surrey, England, UK
* Formally Opened May 17th 2003 *
Find out More by Clicking on the links below:-
What was the project all about?
PHOTOS: Last Pictures of the Old Hut
PHOTOS: Construction
What was the Project all about?
A New Future for Witley Children
From the 28th March 2000 to the opening on 17th May 2003, Witley Infant School and Witley Scout and Guide Associations joined forces to improve the facilities available to the children of Witley by fundraising & then constructing a new building on the site of the old Scout Hut. This now provides the school with modern PE, Assembly & Dining facilities for use during the day, and gives the Cubs, Scouts, Guides, Brownies and Explorers a purpose built headquarters for their meetings in the evening.
£375,000
Yes, that is what we had raised by August 2002! We used this money to replace the old scout hut, which was 163 m2, by a building with a total floor area of 260 m2.
By forming a partnership between the school and the Scout & Guide community, we raised the money from Surrey County Council, Waverley Borough Council, Witley C of E Infant School, Witley Parish Council, Public Donations, Fund Raising events, Charitable Trusts and Private Donations.
A major setback occurred when we were refused a lottery grant but a strong response from local residents plus Surrey County Council together with a four-figure donation from a local scout supporter recovered the situation as described in this press release dated 19th August 2002:-
Jubilee Hall “Go-ahead” Statement The great news is that we have raised enough money to go ahead with the complete Jubilee Hall building project. Although our application for funds from the Lottery (Community Fund) was rejected, a very strong response to our recent fund-raising appeal from local residents, together with a very generous four-figure donation from a local Scout & Guide supporter and extensive help from Surrey County Council, has allowed us to meet our building target. We have, however, had to cut back on the specifications of the fixtures and fittings, and postpone investment in new tables and chairs. As a result, we will be continuing to raise funds so that we can add these items back, during or after the building phase, if the money becomes available. All being well, the building programme should start in the autumn with completion in early spring. The committee would like to thank everyone for their continued support, it is very much appreciated and we are delighted that the project can now go ahead.
Surrey County Council
Non-Profit Organisation Donors:-
Albert Hunt Trust
Churchmill Partnership
Leslie Sell Charitable Trust
Red Hat
Wintershall Estate
Aldro School
Erica Leonard Trust
Marshalls Trustees Fund
Rowan Bentall Charity Trust
Witley Parish Council
Aldro Cub Pack
Garfield Weston Foundation
Milford & Witley Environmental Play Scheme
Rural Life Centre
Witley C of E Infant's School
Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation
Godalming Lions
Prior's Field School
The Parish of All Saints Witley
Bob Wagstaff Charitable Trust
King Edward's School, Witley
Rainford Trust
We Care For You
Commercial Donors:-
Anthony Hirewear, Godalming
Design Drives, Godalming
Haslemere Rover, Grayswood
Performing Arts Management,
The Oval Cricket Club,
Aquarius
Drusilla's Park
Herons Fitness Centre
Peter Harvey, Electrical suppliers, Guildford
Ultimate Beauty, Witley
Barons of Hindhead
Dunlop Slazenger
Hokey Cokey Party Shop
Phillips of Wormley Garage
Unilever
Baynards Motor Co, Witley
Electric Theatre, Guildford
John Flowerdew Studio
Rokers Golf Course
Upper Cut, Witley
Big Bus Co
Emery and Orchard Estate Agents
Johnsons of Witley
Sainsbury's Plc
Watercress Line
Brads Fencing, Godalming
Ensorosario, Godalming
Little Acorns Children's Centre, Chiddingfold
Secretts garden centre
Waverley Borough
Broadwater Park Golf Club
Fishers Farm
London Eye
Selectile Ltd
Weald and Downland Museum
Brocketts Farm
Fitness First
Loseley Park
StageCoach Theatre Arts
What Not Antiques
Ceramica
Footprints, Haslemere
Mann & Co Estate Agents
Surrey Bookshop Godalming
White Hart Witley
Cheeky Rascals
Gatwick Zoo
Masella Coupe Estate Agents
Surrey Caterers, Surrey Commercial Services, Surrey County Council
White Lights Electrics Ltd
Chichester Harbour water Tours
Godalming Kitchens
MG Electrical Services, Milford
Witley Wines
Coach House Antiques, Gomshall
Godalming Racquet Shop
Music Land, Godalming
Sweetwater Fishery, Enton
World of Water Aquatic Centre
Colgate Palmolive
Guildford Odeon Cinema
New Victoria Theatre, Woking
The Face Place,
Coral Reef, Bracknell
Habitat UK
Oce Limited
The Football Association
Denbies Wine Vineyard
Halifax plc
Patricia Ellis School of Dance
The Georgian House Hotel, Haslemere
Witley was one of the first English villages to establish its own Scout Troop in 1911. The old Hut itself was originally part of the Canadian Army Camp on Witley Common during the 1st World War. The villagers of Witley raised £573 to have the building moved and rebuilt at its current location and on 26th May 1920 the building was opened. The Guides started meeting in the hut and the Guide Company was registered at Headquarters on 20th November 1931.
From the Log Book dated 16 Feb 1933- "The Company and the Witley G.F.S. held a Social at the Women's Hut. There were about eighty people present.............started off having a Cinema show lent by Mr Shelley who also sent his gramophone. " ...........Sketches, songs, refreshments and games, dancing Sir Roger de Coverley etc......The Social finally ended up with the National Anthem about 10pm. Our Company Funds increased by 24/-
In 1939 the hut was a canteen so the Guide meetings were held in the School on a Saturday afternoon because people did not dare go out at night for fear of bombing. After a brief spell meeting at the Working Men's Club, Guides returned to the School and remained there until the canteen closed. Guides were once again held in the hut where they have remained to this day.
The building has thus since served the community well for more than 80 years. In 1970 it was named "The Scout Hut" and has been used more or less exclusively by the uniformed movements (Scouts, Guides, Cubs and Brownies) in the village since then. Although the Scout Association owns the building, they lease the land from the Chandlers Trust.
The old hut was demolished and the ground cleared for building the new Jubilee Hall by Saturday 12th October 2002 when we had a “groundbreaking” ceremony to lay the foundations for the new Jubilee Hall.
Equally steeped in history is Witley Infant School that was built in 1836 to provide an education in the Victorian era. Times have changed and modern education now requires better facilities to meet the challenges of the new millennium.
Do you have more information on the history of the Scout Hut or the School? If so, please send me an email so I can update this site!
You can download plans of the Jubilee Hall in Adobe PDF format by clicking onto this link: building.pdf
The Jubilee Hall replaces the old Scout Hut, which was on stilts (see photos), with one set onto ground level. Thus we gain extra height inside the building to make it suitable as a gym without having to raise to the exterior roofline, and also ease access for disabled persons. The Jubilee Hall is around 30.5m long by 8.5m wide , totalling 260m2 in area.
Inside it is
For the school, the following special requirements were facilitated:-
There were two groups involved in the planning and fundraising, representing the two main user groups for the Jubilee hall: -
The members of the groups were: -
WSGPMC Chairman: David Burrows
WSGPMC Secretary: Jane Gallie
WSGPMC Treasurer: Tony Burn
Guide Representative (Leader): Val George
Scout Representative (Leader): Kevin Payne
Scout Representative (Exec Rep): David Owers
WSGPMC Publicity: Sandra Avison
WSGPMC Building & Planning: Godfrey Ayres
WSGPMC Building & Planning: Ian Marshall
WSGPMC Legal: Philip Parrott
Head teacher: Paula Allen
Governor: Nigel Bonnett
2005 March 5th: Two years on, new hall, new team, looking for a new leader! Val George, ex-Captain, writes "The Guide Company is flourishing but needs a leader!!! Caroline White, who took over from me, gave up at Christmas due to work commitments. No one has yet come forward and so the 3 Young Leaders are running the meetings with two parents and a Guider from the District on rotation and the Brownie leader going up as well. I am planning the programmes and doing the accounts but not going up to meetings". If anyone is interested and can help please drop me a line to my email address at the bottom.
2004 May 4th: One year on, new hall, new leader, looking for new team. Mrs Caroline White, the "new" Guide Captain (who replaced Val George after she retired) says "I am looking for a further 2 (ideally 3) leaders to assist me with planning and running of meetings".
Please email any comments or questions about this project or website to "david dot burrows at btinternet dot com" (I have written it like this to try to stop getting so much spam!)