Baden-Powell House

Queen's Gate House
Former names	Baden-Powell House
General information
Architectural style	Modern architecture
Address	65 Queen's Gate
Town or city	Kensington London, SW7
Country	United Kingdom
Completed	12 July 1961; 62 years ago (1961-07-12)
Cost	£400,000
Client	The Scout Association
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Ralph Tubbs
Structural engineer	Harry Neal Ltd.
Website
www.mpw.ac.uk/queens-gate-house

Queen's Gate House, still commonly known by its previous name of Baden-Powell House, is a conference centre in South Kensington, London. It was built as a tribute to Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, and has served as the headquarters for The Scout Association, as a hostel providing modern and affordable lodging for Scouts, Guides, their families and the general public staying in London and as a conference and event venue.

The building committee, chaired by Sir Harold Gillett, Lord Mayor of London, purchased the site in 1956, and assigned Ralph Tubbs to design the house in the modern architectural style. The foundation stone was laid in 1959 by World Chief Guide Olave, Lady Baden-Powell, and it was opened in 1961 by Queen Elizabeth II. The largest part of the £400,000 cost was provided by the Scout Movement itself and the building previously included a number of tributes to the founder including hosting a small exhibition about Scouting, and a granite statue of Baden-Powell by Don Potter located outside the building.

Following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and a decline in numbers of Scouts using the facility, the Scout Association sold the building to Mander Portman Woodward who run it as an events and conference venue and are converting the hostel rooms into boarding accommodation for students.^[1][2][3]