The Archive Resource Centre
The ARC was opened in 2016 and is the only purpose-built guiding heritage centre in the UK. It is a warm, welcoming hive of activity and it invites visitors and researchers to explore its collection in lots of different ways.
Museum accreditation
A team of volunteers have achieved official museum status for the ARC, conserving and cataloguing the collection to professional standards. They’re passionate about bringing guiding history to life, running activity sessions for visiting groups or lending hands-on heritage boxes out to leaders to use at weekly meetings.
The ARC has two temperature and humidity-controlled storage rooms and a central work space for conservation, research and activities. It is fully accessible, has toilet and kitchen facilities and is available to hire.
The collection is for everyone interested in the history of Girlguiding and its future. Groups of Rainbows, Brownies and Guides come to explore what guiding was like for their mums and grandmothers while academic researchers have found a rich source of social history in the collection; and our Badge Bible is in great demand as visitors explore the history of their own guiding achievements.
We also add to our collection all the time and keep up to date with current guiding badges and uniforms.
The ARC is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and is situated on the Girlguiding Norfolk Patteson Lodge Estate in Coltishall, Norfolk.
