History

The Group began in the summer of 1910 when the village lads formed themselves into a gang, tied a rope around their waists and equipped with a broomstick went out into the surrounding fields and woods (now the Henbury golf links) and practiced this Scouting game they had read about.

At that time the meeting place was the village green in Westbury-on-Trym (where the War Memorial now stands). The Scoutmaster was Mr C H H Castle, who lived with his parents at a house called North Cote, which is now part of Badminton School. The Troop, originally named the 26th St Albans, was registered January 1911. The Castle family owned the North Cote estate and the Troop soon established themselves on the smallest of the fields. The first hut was soon built and the present Headquarters stands on the same site. Shortly after, the name was officially changed to the “26th Bristol (North Cote)”. The “North Cote” estate was progressively developed for housing, but on Mrs. Castle’s death, what was left of the “smallest field” was donated to the Bristol Scout Association, “for the use of the North Cote Group”. Eventually, in 1957, the Group purchased the land for £530. The original wooden hut was then extensively rebuilt and enlarged.

By 1968 preliminary sketches of a new HQ had already been produced, with initial costs estimated at £15,000. The cost of the new building continued to rise, but on St. Valentine’s Day 1974 the old hut was demolished, and in May 1975 the new building was officially opened. The Group, in addition to several grants, had to borrow a considerable amount to fund the new building. In March 1979 the GSL’s “New Headquarters” file (opened in May 1972) was formally closed as the Building Fund went into credit, with a simple statement “Headquarters paid for”. The final cost was £47,000.

When Northcote was built back in the 1970’s the Group consisted of a large Cub Pack and a large Scout Troop. Today it offers Scouting from six to eighteen in TEN sections in fantastic facilities. The building has been continually enhanced to meet the needs of Scouting. In 2005 a new kitchen extension was added and in Covid lockdown in 2020 a large canopy area was created to really improve the use of outdoor space, then in 2023 a new Upper Hall was created to support the substantial growth of the Group and allow sections to meet at the same time.