Scouting was started by Robert Baden-Powell in 1907, and Longford Scouts began just a year later
In June 1908, a group of boys asked William Ernest Gregson to umpire a game they were going to play. That simple moment led him to start a Scout Troop, known as “First Longford”, in his home, Wansbeck House.
Thanks to the officers of Union Church, the Troop soon moved into the School Room. Union Church is the building at the corner of Kenwood Road and Edge Lane. By 1910, the number of Scouts had risen to 32.
In 1911, the Chief Scout, Sir Robert Baden-Powell, visited the Headquarters in Union Church. During that year, a Training Squad was started for boys aged between seven and eleven, paving the way for the future Wolf Cubs section.
At a meeting of Longford’s Court of Honour on 4 September 1912, “the matter of new headquarters was discussed and it was decided to ask for the use of the Shippon and adjoining buildings, failing this the workshop” in the newly acquired Longford Park. The rent was 1/6 (7½p) per week. “It was found that we can only have the use of four rooms. The Council are only putting a door in for us. We have to remove the shippons ourselves.”
On 21 December 1912, all the alterations were completed, and Councillor Williams opened the new headquarters at 3.15pm. Activities and celebrations went on into the late evening.
Over time, the Group expanded its use of the site, eventually taking on the entire Shippon complex at Longford Park. The Ranche has remained our home ever since and continues to evolve with the needs of new generations.
Major changes were made to the interior of the building in 1985, when toilets were provided for the first time, and again in 2010–2012, when the Denis Taylor Room was created downstairs and the kitchen refurbished.
Most recently, in 2025, a new room and fully upgraded kitchen were added, marking another important chapter in the Group’s ongoing development and its commitment to providing a welcoming, modern space for Scouting in the community.
