Transcript JARMAN CENTRE

The Jarman Centre
A short history
The Jarman Centre is a very special place, which is enjoyed by
guiding and scouting members, schools, youth and community
groups, and as a training venue for local companies.
Why is it called the Jarman
Centre?
Girlguiding Cambridgeshire East bought the
site using proceeds from the sale of
Haddenham Halt, a converted railway
station that had served as a Brownie pack
holiday house and Guide centre for 13 years.
The County’s building fund was augmented
by generous gifts from Cambridge City
Division and Cambridge City Trefoil Guild
from their bequests from Miss Marjory
Jarman, so loved as ‘Jammie’.
MARJORY ALICE JARMAN
13 August 1900 - 1 January 1981
• was enrolled as a Guide into the 12th Cambridge
Guide Company in 1916;
• was County Camp Adviser from 1942 until 1953;
• was a member of the Guide International Service
(GIS) in World War II, in the Egyptian desert, in a
Cairo hospital, and in the Displaced Persons
Centre in Piraeus;
• was awarded the WVS Long Service Medal in 1961
for 22 years of service, 40 duties a year;
• started the 14th Cambridge Ranger Company in
1919 and was its leader until 1957;
• and founded the Cambridge Trefoil Guild in 1943.
Her life was one of service to the wider
community as well as to guiding.
Jammie loved camping: this is from one of her log books
14th Cambridge Ranger Colour
This flag was designed and embroidered by Marjory
Jarman for the 14th Cambridge Ranger Company of
which she was a founder member in 1919. She was
later lieutenant and then captain from 1926-1957.
The flag was dedicated at Holy Trinity Church
Cambridge on 16 October 1921. It now hangs in the
Trefoil Room at the Jarman Centre.
The original plot of 5.75 acres was bought in February 1986
and a dedicated team set about raising funds to build a new
residential centre to replace Haddenham Halt.
Site for the house
Volunteers helped clear the land for the house and camp sites
Joyce Sale marks out the first campsite
By November 1986
Ian Steen had come
up with a design for
the building
Heather Dixon made this model to explain what was
being built and to help raise funds
1987 and building work was underway
Building work from all sides
Brownies lay the Foundation Stone
with County Commissioner Mary
Sanders (left) and County President
Valerie Gape
Just finished
Getting ready for business:
brochure, badge and official address
Early pictures in the house:
Can you spot what has changed over the years?
The Official Opening in October 1988:
Chief Commissioner Dr June Patterson-Brown cuts the ribbon
The Official Opening
Dr June Patterson-Brown
plants a tree.
It is near the SPICE Garden
– can you find it?
The Official Opening
The Chief Commissioner
and Mary Sanders talk
with campers
The Official Opening
Daphne Bowyer, May Walker, Thelma Jopling, Molly Bourne, and Tim Sayer
The first tree-planting day: do you recognise anyone?
Although we have a lot of trees we still need to replant
Room Names
Miss M A Gaskell started
guiding in the County
Left to right:
Elise de Beaumont
(first County Secretary, first County Camp Adviser)
The Hon Mrs de Beaumont
(County Commissioner 1916-1945)
Marguerite de Beaumont
(Trainer, ran the first county camp)
More Room Names
Left to right below:
Mrs Dorothy Orlebar (County Camp Adviser)
Miss Margaret Martin
(Division Commissioner North Cambs)
Mrs Jane Deas
(1st Cambridge Guide, responsible for
Haddenham Halt)
Above right: Lady Cambridge
(County President 1953-1975)
Early entries in the guest book
The Solid Shelter under construction in 1990
Beeches campsite above,
Oaks left
Donations in memory of Sylvia MacAndrew, provided the
play equipment which is still enjoyed today
The Centre is not just used by guiding and scouting:
For over 10 years Janet ‘Aggie’ Baker and her Rangers led ‘Kids’ Camp’ at
the Jarman Centre, with catering supported by the Divisions
The Jarman Centre Estate
House
Campfire
Stores
Secret
area
Trampolines
Bin
store
Quiet
area
BBQ
Ho
e
SPICE Garden
and play
area
BBQ
us
Car
Park
Oaks
Well
Beeches
ch
Du
Main Campfire
Shelter
This area
is currently
out of bounds
Lime
Tree
Avenue
Archery
es s
Activity
area
Dense undergrowth
Dri
ve
Firs
Store
Sycamores
Magnetic
North
Scale: 1 square = 50 metres
Map symbols
Road, Vehicle track
Fence, Vegetation boundary
Path, Small path
Large tree, Building
Steps, Flagmast
Grassed area, Slope
Surveyed and drawn by Anne and Peter Duncumb (West Anglian Orienteering Club) June 2000, simplified for general use May 2006, revised August 2012. © Cambridgeshire East Guide Association 2000.
The original plot was 5.75 acres – the square area at the left of
this plan. In 1993 an opportunity arose to buy a further 13 acres to
the east, which includes the archery field, the Lime Tree Avenue
and two further campsites cleared in recent years.
The County celebrated our
10th birthday in 1998 with
Division parties held over
two days.
Sue Dyer (County
Commissioner at the time)
cuts one of the cakes
watched by (from left) Pam
Fisher, Anne Duncumb,
Joan Bryan and Joyce
Lewis, all members of the
original management
committee.
The County organises events at the Jarman
Centre, such as Crotchets and Quavers
(1998) and The World is Here (2006), a
‘cardboard box sleepover’
In 2006 an area beyond Beeches
campsite was cleared and in 2007
Archery was introduced. This has
become a very popular activity,
and we have our own team of
trained instructors.
In 2009, following widespread
consultation, the house
underwent a refurbishment
project to include:
• A mechanical heating and
ventilation system powered
by an air-source heat pump
• Solar pre-heated water
• Conversion and soundproofing of the Loft to
provide self-catered
accommodation for smaller
groups . . .
Plus:
• An all-access wetroom with
shower and a new Laundry
• A reconfigured ground floor to
provide two en-suite bedrooms
for leaders, and new doors in
the shower rooms
• Painted dormitories, new
mattresses and other
enhancements
Two Young Leaders with SPICE Guides
came up with the idea of a sensory
garden and found funding for the
£50,000 needed to provide it.
SPICE Garden opened in 2009 and was
completed in 2012 with a stable for
Ned, our wooden horse.
We celebrated our 21st Birthday and
completion of the refurbishment on
29 October 2009 with an activity day for
Rainbows, Brownies and Guides and a
tea party for invited guests.
In 2010 we celebrated
Girlguiding UK’s Centenary by
hosting two days of outdoor
activities during the County’s
‘Look 2010’ camp
Since 2010 we have been
concentrating on the estate,
which is covered by a
Woodland Protection Order;
active tree management is
now taking place.
Our volunteer Lumberjacks
are clearing brambles and
scrub to create opportunities
for further activities and are
also carrying out all sorts of
maintenance jobs.
Other recent projects include:
Sycamores and Firs – two new sites for
lightweight camps opened in 2012
Permanent benching at the
main campfire circle
Two new barbecues
Area cleared for Slack Lines
The Friends of the
Jarman Centre, our
supporters’ group
that started in April
1988 as the Jarman
Centre Circle, still
meet regularly to do
the jobs that always
need doing in a house
like this.
They also enjoy a
winter lunch and a
summer supper,
usually with an
interesting talk.
You can download this form from our website
www.jarmancentre.org.uk
Our souvenir shop has a selection of Jarman Centre badges,
postcards and guiding souvenirs.
We are always raising funds for improvements to the
facilities. For details of how to donate please visit the
fundraising section at
www.jarmancentre.org.uk