Dominating the front area of Gilwell Park this property was once known as Gilwell House. The central block is the oldest part dating to the 16th century or early 17th century. There are additional late 18th century or early 19th century wings. Reports vary on the earliest date.
The whitewashed walls give The White House its name today. It has a Welsh slate roof and consists of two storeys.
Wikipedia describes the house and its links with Scouting:
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'The White House and its predecessors represent over 500 years of Gilwell history. It became the headquarters of The Scout Association on 27 April 2001, although Baden-Powell House (the former headquarters) still facilitates some departments of The Scout Association. The White House also serves as a restaurant, training, and conference centre. It was totally torn down once and has been renovated, remodeled, and expanded continuously over the years. The central portion has no foundations and the chimneys are made of Coade stone. It also displays original Scouting paintings by Ernest Stafford Carlos (1883–1917); the highlight of which is The Pathfinder. In this historic setting as a conference centre, the White House has offered over 40 rooms (single, double, twin) with all modern facilities since 2004–2005.
In 1754, William Skrimshire purchased Great Gilwell, Little Gilwell, and half of Osborne's estate, including Osborne Hall. Skrimshire demolished Osborne Hall and built a new residence, which he also called Osborne Hall. That building is now called the White House. Timbers in the White House can be dated to this time, but not to any previous era. Leonard Tresilian (?–1792) bought the estate in 1771 and expanded the land holdings and size of the residence. Tresilian's first wife, Margaret Holland, died young after bearing three daughters. He then married Elizabeth Fawson. Desiring that Gilwell pass on to his eldest daughter, also named Margaret (1750–c.1844), Tresilian drew up a detailed prenuptial agreement with Fawson's father. By the time of Tresilian's death in 1792, the younger Margaret had married William Bassett Chinnery (1766–1834), the elder brother of the painter George Chinnery.
The Chinnerys were wealthy and influential. William Chinnery's father, also named William, owned trading ships and named one Gilwell in 1800. William and Margaret Chinnery initially resided in London, and after three years of marriage and inheriting Gilwell in 1792, they moved to Gilwell in 1793. They soon shocked the populace by renaming Osborne Hall to "Gilwell Hall". 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. Parts of the garden, paths, and dwelling modifications exist into the 21st century. William Chinnery was exposed as the embezzler of a small fortune from the British Treasury where he worked and was dismissed from all his posts on 12 March 1812. Margaret Chinnery was forced to sign over Gilwell Estate to the Exchequer on 2 July 1812.
The Chinnery family was prominent enough that members of the English nobility visited often during the 1790s and early 19th century. King George III visited on occasion, and the Prince Regent, who later became George IV, was a regular visitor. George III's seventh son, Prince Adolphus, became a family friend, lived at Gilwell for a while, and tutored their eldest son George.
Gilpin Gorst bought the estate in 1815 at public auction, and his son sold it to Thomas Usborne in 1824. When London Bridge was replaced in 1826, Usborne bought pieces of the stone balustrades, which date to 1209, and erected them behind the White House around the Buffalo Lawn. The estate changed ownership more times, but these families did not maintain the property and it fell into disrepair by 1900. Reverend Cranshaw, a local resident, bought the estate in 1911 and was the last owner prior to the Boy Scout Association, as it was then known.
Scouting connection
The estate's condition declined more during the 1910s. William F. de Bois Maclaren was a publisher and Scout Commissioner from Rosneath, Dumbartonshire, Scotland. During a business trip to London, Maclaren was saddened to see that Scouts in the East End had no suitable outdoor area to conduct their activities. He contacted Lord Robert Baden-Powell, who appointed P. B. Nevill to handle the matter. Nevill was Scout Commissioner of the East End. On 20 November 1918 over dinner at Roland House, the Scout Hostel in Stepney, Maclaren agreed to donate £7,000 to the project. Part of the agreement included narrowing the areas to look for suitable land to Hainault Forest and Epping Forest. Rover Scouts searched both without success, but then John Gayfer, a young assistant scoutmaster, suggested Gilwell Hall, a place he went bird-watching. Nevill visited the estate and was impressed, though the buildings were in poor condition. The estate was for sale for £7,000, the price Maclaren had donated. The estate totaled 21 hectare (53 acres) at the time.
The estate was purchased in early 1919 by Maclaren for the Boy Scout Association. Nevill first took his Rover Scouts to begin repairing the estate on Maundy Thursday, 17 April 1919. On this visit, the Rovers slept in the gardener's shed in the orchard because the ground was so wet they could not pitch tents. They called this shed "The Pigsty" and though dilapidated, it still stands, as it is the site of the first Scout campsite at Gilwell Park. Maclaren was a frequent visitor to Gilwell Park and helped repair the buildings. His dedication was so great that he donated another £3,000. Maclaren's interest had been in providing a campground, but Baden-Powell envisioned a training centre for Scouters. An official opening was planned for 19 June 1919 but it was delayed until Saturday, 26 June 1919 so that Scouts could participate in the Official Peace Festival commemorating the end of World War I. Invitations were changed by hand to save money. Significant remodeling and construction was done in the 1920s. Because of limited finances, few improvements were made during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Baden-Powell never lived at Gilwell Park but he often camped, lectured, taught courses, and attended meetings. He emphasized the importance of Scouters' training at Gilwell Park for Scouting by taking it as the territorial designation in his peerage title of 1st Baron Baden-Powell of Gilwell in 1929 when the barony was conferred upon him by the king.'
At this point it is worth mentioning that Male Dragontree did his Wood Badge training here at Gilwell Park and returned to act on the Q Staff for other people taking their Wood Badge here. Also on occasions he attended the annual Gilwell reunion and took his Cub Pack here for a day's outing. Male Dragontree then progressed further in Scouting to receive the Medal of Merit and the Silver Acorn.