REPORTS OF MEETINGS 359
The forest paths led on until Sewardstonebury road was reached and
crossed, continued in a westerly direction, then turned northwards into a
field by way of a ditch and along a second field, to bring us to the entrance
to Gilwell Park in time for 4 o'clock tea. Afterwards, the party was taken
in charge by one of the Scoutmaster Instructors acting as an official guide.
He led the way to a camp-fire circle to deliver an account of the historical
associations of Gilwell.
Originally belonging to the Abbey of Waltham, it was used as a hunting
lodge. The house itself dates from a very early period and has no
foundations, being built on flagstones laid directly on the earth. Although
this has obvious disadvantages, it proved, in the event of modern bomb-
blast, to be a protection against the collapsing of the walls. The walls
are of wood, faced with stone, which gives the misleading appearance of a
solid stone structure. In early days there was a stone balcony on the front,
used during the meets of the hunt, but this was removed when it was found
to be in a dangerous condition.
During the time of Henry VIII, so it is said, the monks built a four-mile
tunnel connecting Gilwell and the Abbey at Waltham. The peep-hole and
the start of this tunnel can still be seen. Later the house passed from the
ownership of Sir Anthony Denny to that of one Chinnery, a wealthy col-
lector of taxes and a probable confrere of Samuel Pepys. He achieved
notoriety in several ways. Hearing that London Bridge was about to be
rebuilt, he sent his farm carts to London by night to bring back lengths
of the old stone balustrade with which to ornament his gardens. Another
of his projects was to insist that the then main road, known as Silver Street,
running from London to Waltham, which passed directly in front of the
house, was moved some hundred and fifty yards farther east, to the present
Sewardstonebury road. This, presumably, so that the passers-by should
not overlook his windows.
Mrs. Chinnery seems to have been a person with an interest in botany,
for she planted a very fine collection of rare and varied trees and surrounded
them with a belt of Limes, now grown to giant proportions. These form
a delightful bird sanctuary. One cannot tell what other improvements might
have been effected but for the fact that Mr. Chinnery was forced to flee
to France with his family on account of having embezzled over £80,000
from government funds. In order to recover some of the money, the house
was then sold by the Treasury to the Gibbs family, of dentifrice fame.
No more is heard until, during the second decade of the 20th century,
a Londoner made an offer to Baden-Powell to buy a property for the use
of the Scouts, if one such could be found within 15 miles of London. In
due course the seekers found the estate of Gilwell which had come on to
the market but was in a very derelict state. However, it was purchased,
and became the headquarters and training ground for the Scoutmasters
throughout the world. Whenever Scouts from overseas are in camp there,
the flag of their country is flown. At the time of the visit, the Club saw
the flags of South Africa, the United States of America and Pakistan,
among others. This extensive estate, originally of 58 acres, now covers
over 100 acres and affords scope for all branches of botany, woodcraft, camp-
craft, etc. A sturdy log-cabin, built in one field, was furnished with
comfortable armchairs made of Hickory wood by overseas Scouts. The
wooden garden and field gates, too, were hand-made and hand-carved
Following this historical survey, the members spent some time in ex-
ploring the grounds and enjoying the views of the surrounding country,
with Waltham Abbey to the north and the chain of reservoirs to the west.