Hollow Lane is at the heart of the Stroud Valley Scouts story. Long before the current Scout Centre, the site became the home of St Lawrence Scout Troop, with land, buildings and local support coming together to create a lasting base for Scouting in Stroud.

St Lawrence Air Scouts entering Stroud Parish Church grounds. Image from The World of Netlam Bigg by John Gardiner, reproduced with permission.

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Why Hollow Lane matters

Hollow Lane matters because it gives the history of Stroud Valley Scouts a physical home. The stories of Netlam Bigg, St Lawrence Scout Troop, wartime service, remembrance and the later Stroud Valley Scouting Centre all meet at this site.

For the St Lawrence Scouts, Hollow Lane was not simply a meeting place. It was a headquarters, training ground, storage site, place of ceremony and place of memory. It became the base from which much of the group’s later story developed.

The site also shows how local Scouting was built through generosity and practical action. Land was made available. A large hut was donated. Existing structures were adapted. Supporters raised money. Volunteers made the site work. That same pattern of local effort continues in the Scout Centre today.

Mrs Bigg’s half-acre site

The original St Lawrence headquarters at Hollow Lane was created on a half-acre piece of land owned by Mrs Bigg. This detail is important because it shows the personal and family commitment behind the development of the site.

Netlam Bigg’s work in Scouting was supported by practical resources and local relationships. The availability of land at Hollow Lane gave St Lawrence Scout Troop the opportunity to establish a permanent base rather than relying only on borrowed or temporary meeting spaces.

A permanent site changed what the group could become. It allowed the Scouts to meet, store equipment, train, gather, remember, fundraise and build a shared identity around a place of their own.

The hut donated by A. C. Cook

The site was transformed by the donation of a large hut by Mr A. C. Cook. The hut was approximately 60 feet by 27 feet, giving the Scouts a substantial building for their headquarters.

Inside, the hut provided a main hall, a meeting room and two smaller rooms. This gave the group the flexibility to run meetings, activities, training and administration from the same base.

A smaller hut was used as the Rover Den, giving the older Scout section its own space. Existing greenhouses were also adapted and converted into a kitchen, toilets and storerooms.

These details show the practical creativity behind the early headquarters. Hollow Lane was not created by building a perfect new centre from scratch. It was built by using what was available, adapting it, and making it work for Scouting.

The 1938 opening

The new St Lawrence headquarters and training grounds were officially opened on Saturday 17 September 1938.

The opening was carried out by Lt Col G. Walton, Home Commissioner from Imperial Headquarters. His presence shows that the new headquarters was seen as a significant development, not just a local building project.

The opening of the headquarters gave St Lawrence Scout Troop a clear base from which to grow. It came only a short time after Netlam Bigg had re-established the troop in 1937, making Hollow Lane part of the group’s revival and expansion.

A home for St Lawrence Scouts

Hollow Lane became the centre of St Lawrence Scout life. It was where the group met, stored equipment, trained, gathered and built its identity.

By the early 1940s, St Lawrence had become a strong and active Scout Group. The photograph of the troop around 1942 shows the scale and confidence of the group during this period.

St Lawrence Scout Troop, around 1942. Image from The World of Netlam Bigg by John Gardiner, reproduced with permission.

The headquarters also supported the wider development of the group, including the Air Scouts, Rover Scouts, wartime service and later international adventures. Hollow Lane was therefore not just a building. It was the working base for a wide and ambitious programme of Scouting.

Hollow Lane during the wartime years

During the Second World War, St Lawrence Scouts were involved in practical service to the local community. Hollow Lane was part of that story because it provided the group with a base for organisation, storage and activity.

Scouts supported the Stroud Women’s Voluntary Service through salvage collections, including bones, old iron and rags. Netlam Bigg represented the Scout Association on the Evacuation Reception Committee, and senior Scouts helped evacuees at Tuck’s Hall on Sundays.

The Scouts also helped with fire watches at Stroud General Hospital, ran messages and manned telephones at the Trinity Rooms and First Aid Post.

The Waste Paper Campaign became one of the largest and most striking examples of local Scout service. In February 1940, Netlam Bigg was appointed organiser of the campaign by the Stroud and Tetbury Scouts’ Association. Over seven years, Scouts collected nearly 1,500 tons of paper and raised around £7,000 for Scouting.

Later, Hollow Lane would also be linked with fundraising for the 1949 Kandersteg expedition, when Scouts collected waste paper and cardboard every Saturday and stored it at the headquarters.

Remembrance and the silver birches

Hollow Lane was also a place of remembrance.

At the VE Thanksgiving Service in May 1945, Netlam Bigg paid tribute to Albert Matty, John Roseblade, John Wilmot and Norman Jennison, all connected with the group and remembered for their wartime service.

On 13 October 1945, a special service was held. A memorial scroll was dedicated, followed by a procession to the headquarters. Five silver birches were planted in memory of Lord Somers and the four members connected with St Lawrence who had died in service.

Planting a silver birch in memory of John Wilmot at St Lawrence. Image from The World of Netlam Bigg by John Gardiner, reproduced with permission.

Towards the Stroud Valley Scouting Centre

The story of Hollow Lane continued long after the original St Lawrence headquarters opened in 1938. Over time, the site developed from the early headquarters and training ground into the wider Stroud Valley Scouting Centre.

The later centre brought together the legacy of St Lawrence, St Peter’s and the wider local Scouting community. It became a shared facility serving not only one group, but a much broader Scouting area.

This transition is important because it shows how the original Hollow Lane site continued to evolve. The early donation of land and buildings created a foundation that later generations could build on.

The 1982 opening

The Stroud Valley Scouting Centre was officially opened on 10 July 1982.

The opening plaque was unveiled by Cllr Roy Nicholas. The Bigg family were praised for their contribution to the history and development of Scouting at Hollow Lane.

The project cost around £17,000, with at least £7,000 raised by Scout supporters. This shows that, just as in the earlier Hollow Lane story, the new centre was made possible by local effort, commitment and fundraising.

The centre served St Lawrence and St Peter’s Groups, along with Scouts from Brimscombe, Eastcombe, Bussage and France Lynch. It was therefore a true Scouting centre for the area, not simply a hall for one group.

The work included a hall, kitchen and store, while the old Rover Den was refurbished. The Chapel Street gates were dedicated to Bernard Hewlett, adding another layer of memory and local Scouting history to the site.

The Netlam Bigg Room

Netlam Bigg was present at the opening of the Stroud Valley Scouting Centre in 1982. By then, he was 84 years old.

He thanked the Scouts for the tributes paid to his late wife Margaret and to himself. This was a powerful moment because the new centre stood on a site so closely connected with the Bigg family, St Lawrence Scouting and decades of local service.

Netlam unveiled a plaque in the entrance hall, officially naming the Netlam Bigg Room. This room gave his name a permanent place within the building and recognised the role he had played in shaping Scouting at Hollow Lane.

Hollow Lane today

Today, Hollow Lane remains the home of Stroud Valley Scouts. The site continues to support weekly Scouting, camps, activities, meetings, community use and the wider work of the group.

The buildings and site have changed since 1938, but the underlying story is familiar: local people giving time, money, skill and energy so that young people have somewhere to belong, learn and grow.

Hollow Lane is therefore not just part of our past. It is part of our present and future. Every section night, camp preparation evening, community booking, maintenance project and young person’s first visit adds another layer to the story that began with the St Lawrence headquarters.

Help care for Hollow Lane today

A short timeline

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Sources and acknowledgements

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