ALCESTER Girl Guides celebrated 100 years since the first guide unit was set up in the town with a family celebration at Coughton Court.
Over 100 girls from Girl Guiding Alcester and Avon Villages joined together to mark a centenary of the Guide unit with a special sleepover and family fun day.
Magnus and Imogen Birch Throckmorton, who live at Coughton Court, invited the Guides to use the estate for the special weekend to honour their great grandmother Betty Throckmorton, who was one of the first guide leaders in Alcester in 1925.
The guides enjoyed private access to the house for a sleepover and took part in a bat walk and silent disco. This was followed by a day of fun for all the family with a picnic, archery, soft axe throwing, craft sessions, and a guiding themed trail around the gardens. Each guide also received a special badge to commemorate the event.
Jane Vance, division commissioner for Stratford on Avon, said: “The centenary event was a fantastic way to show the important role girl guiding has played in the Alcester community for generations. We’re so thankful to the Throckmorton family for welcoming us to Coughton Court and giving us unprecedented access to the historic house and gardens – it couldn’t be more fitting given the family connection to our organisation.”
Magnus Birch Throckmorton added: “It was an honour to welcome the Girl Guides to Coughton Court to celebrate such a remarkable milestone as Betty’s legacy continues to inspire new generations of Guides in the area. Seeing the Guides enjoying the house and gardens in the same spirit their predecessors would have done 100 years ago was very special for our family.”
