Our History

The Group was founded in 1913 by Reverend Spencer Gibb who was the Vicar of St Agnes Church, North Reddish. Reverend Gibb and a small group of volunteer adults followed the inspiration set by Robert Baden Powell, Founder and Chief Scout of the Scout Movement, to form a Scout Troop. The Troop quickly grew in numbers due to the overwhelming need for activities for young people in the area at this time. The Group later expanded by opening a Cub Scout Section and a Senior Scout Section and continued to operate throughout the periods of the First and Second World Wars.

The Group first met at St Agnes Sunday School and later moved to premises in Midland Road, Reddish. We shared our premises with ‘1st Reddish Girl Guides’ and in 1945 the ‘St Agnes Scouts and Guides Parents Committee’ was formed to support fund raising and other needs. Work began to find a new location for the Scout and Guide Sections to meet and a deal to purchase land on Criterion Street from the estate of the 7th Earl of Wilton was agreed. Six years later work on the building commenced and the Gibb Memorial Hall was eventually opened in 1959. The premises were extended in 1979 with the opening of an additional building, Willis Lodge, named in memory of a former Group Scout Leader, Tom Willis.

In 2008 the premises became known as ‘The North Reddish Scout and Guide Centre’ and continues to be managed by St Agnes Scouts and Guides Parents Committee (Registered Charity No. 1093981).

The Scout and Guide Centre is a popular local venue providing facilities for Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorer Scouts, Rainbows, Brownies and Guides. The Centre is frequently used by other local Community organisations.