Gilwell Park is The Scout Association's principal camp site and activity centre in the United Kingdom.

It is a 109-acre (44 ha) site, located in East London in the Sewardstonebury area of Waltham Abbey within Epping Forest near the border with Chingford.

Gilwell Park has a number of camping fields, indoor accommodation, historical sites, Scouting monuments and outdoor adventure activities.

[2] Around this time, Richard Osbourne purchased an adjoining 5.6 ha (14 acres) property and in 1442, he built a large dwelling called Osborne Hall, which stood for 300 years.

According to a local legend, in the early 16th century, King Henry VIII owned the land and built a hunting lodge for his son Edward.

Around 1736, highwayman Dick Turpin began using Gilwell's forests to hide and for ambushing travellers and freight along roads leading into London.

Desiring that Gilwell pass on to his eldest daughter, who was also named Margaret (1750 – c.1844), Tresilian drew up a detailed prenuptial agreement with Fawson's father.

William and Margaret Chinnery initially lived in London and after three years of marriage they inherited Gilwell in 1792 and moved to the property in 1793.

[a] William Chinnery expanded Gilwell's land holdings through significant purchases over 15 years and with his wife, transformed it into a country estate with gardens, paths and statues.

William Chinnery was exposed as the embezzler of a small fortune from his employer the British Treasury and was dismissed from all his posts on 12 March 1812.

When London Bridge was replaced in 1826, Usborne bought pieces of the stone balustrades, which date to 1209 and erected them around the Buffalo Lawn behind the White House.

On 20 November 1918, over dinner at Roland House, the Scout Hostel in Stepney run by Nevill, Maclaren agreed to donate £7,000 to the project.

Rover Scouts searched both without success but John Gayfer, a young assistant Scoutmaster, suggested Gilwell Hall, which he visited to watch birds.

The axe-and-log logo was conceived by Francis Gidney in the early 1920s to distinguish Gilwell Park from the Scout Headquarters.

The purchase of Gilwellbury and adjoining land in 1945 allowed The Scout Association to close the original road and fully use Branchet Field.

[a] After the war, The Boy Scouts Association bought adjoining land to increase the estate and protect it from rapidly approaching new developments.

In 1921 he travelled to Gilwell Park to take leader training, which led to his retirement from the Indian Police in 1922 to become a full-time Scout Association official.

The centre offers outdoor and indoor adventure activities, as well as accommodation and camping for Scout and Guide groups, schools and other youth organisations.

Branchet Lodge is a single storey building that has central heating and sleeps up to 56 people in two wings with a common kitchen and main hall.

[26] Scout Adventures at Gilwell Park has between 20 and 50 volunteers, who stay for a maximum of one year and are provided with accommodation in return for their work.

These volunteers are trained to run activity sessions for guests, carry out maintenance and improvement works on the site and provide customer service.

The building is mostly timber framed with a large social space constructed using glulam beams and includes a two-storey sleeping area.

[28] The main hall is regularly used for large weddings, dinners and parties; with the seminar rooms and training suites used for conferences and meetings.

The lawn in front of the building was the house's original turning circle and the road was once a thoroughfare from Chingford to Waltham Abbey.

A clock on the front of the building was a gift from a former Japanese Chief Scout Count Sano, who was present at an early training course at Gilwell Park.

[32] Close to the estate entrance, The Lodge was built in 1934 as the Camp Chief's home; this was succeeded by the Director of Programme and Development.

[35] The first group of Rover Scouts who arrived to prepare the site when it was purchased in 1919 slept here when the weather proved too inclement to pitch their tents.

[a] The site houses to five places of worship for Scouts and other visitors located along the Gilwell Park Faith Walk,[36] including a Buddhist sala, Jewish synagogue and an Islamic mosque.

The sala was donated to Gilwell Park in 1967 by the Boy Scouts of Thailand and the Buddha statue was a gift from the Thai government and is over 1,000 years old.

[37] Lime Walk, which was constructed by previous estate owner Margaret Chinnery, surrounds the training ground, which was the original main lawn of the White House.