Source guide
Girlguiding Norfolk Archive Resource Centre
A publicly accessible collection of more than 30,000 items (logbooks, photographs, uniforms, badges and print) at Coltishall, Norfolk.
The Archive Resource Centre (ARC) holds Girlguiding Norfolk’s collection. It is on the county’s Patteson Lodge Estate at Coltishall, and holds “well over 30,000 items” from 1910 to the present day.[1] Its holdings include unit logbooks, photographs, uniforms, badges, books and magazines.[2] The ARC describes itself as the only publicly accessible collection of Girlguiding items in the UK.[1]
In 2017 the National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded Girlguiding Norfolk £60,000 to conserve and share the archive, which then held over 10,000 items.[3] Some of the collection is also online, for example through the MyLearning website.[4]
Why it is useful
County collections like this are where lived experience survives. National headquarters kept rules, reports and publications; local archives keep what units actually did. Logbooks, in particular, record meetings, camps, badges earned and events in girls’ and leaders’ own words.
What to look for
- Unit logbooks for evidence of what a specific unit did, and when.
- Uniforms and badges for dated physical examples to compare with catalogues and rules.
- Photographs for camps, ceremonies and everyday meetings, but check who owns the rights before reuse.
- Printed material such as handbooks, programmes and local newsletters.
Before you visit
The ARC is usually open on Mondays from 10am to 4pm, or by appointment with the archivist. Check the ARC website before travelling.[1] Ask about reuse terms before photographing items for publication: being able to see an item does not mean you may publish an image of it.
Citing items
Give the repository, a description of the item, its reference number if it has one, and its date. When quoting a logbook, say whose writing it is if that is known.
Sources
- Girlguiding Norfolk, “The ARC - Girlguiding Norfolk's Archive Resource Centre”. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- Girlguiding Norfolk, “Our collection”, Girlguiding Norfolk Archive Resource Centre. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- National Lottery Heritage Fund, “History of Girl Guides revealed”, 2017-11-22. Accessed 25 September 2026. Announces a £60,000 grant to Girlguiding Norfolk; the archive then held over 10,000 items.
- Girlguiding Norfolk Archive Resource Centre (via MyLearning), “Brownie Uniforms Designed by Jeff Banks”, MyLearning. Accessed 25 September 2026.