The Barge Aground is the single surviving example of the beach chalets that once lined St Ouen’s Bay and is illustrative of the inter-war fashion for building places of fun and relaxation. The design of the Barge Aground is playful and quirky but also reflects some elements of the modernist style of architecture that arrived in Jersey in the 1930s.

George Lionel Cox purchased the site of the Barge Aground in three transactions which was completed in 1934. He commissioned the building of the Barge Aground (also known as ‘Seagull’) the following year. Cox travelled all over the world and acquired many antiques and curios, many of which were used to furnish the property. The Barge Aground was requisitioned by the German occupying forces in 1941 and used as a canteen by Machine Gun Battalion 16. The building was painted with camouflage and decorated with military cartoons. Many of the contents were looted and shipped to Germany. After the war, Cox returned to the Barge Aground and the building was restored as a beach chalet.

Cox left the property to The Scout Association in his will in 1955. The Barge Aground was then leased to Mr William Chalmers Kerr until 1971. Mr Kerr was a research psychologist from Glasgow University who specialised in speech disorders. The barge was used as a clinic with patients visiting from around the world.

In the 1970s and 1980s the site was used by the Scouting
Association as a base for camping activities; mainly as additional
sleeping accommodation when the Island played host to large scout
camps in the summer. The walled garden was used as a safe area
for the younger cub scouts to set up their tents. The building was
also used to entertain visiting guests such as the Chief Scout Sir William Gladstone in 1978. The Scouting Association moved its headquarters from
St Helier to the newly built Clarkson Hall within the garden of the Barge Aground in 1981.

The site also played host to a fundraising pop concert organised each summer by the Scout Fellowship in the late 1980s / early 1990s. The Scout Association sold the property to the Public of the Island on 21st March 1997 although it continued to use the site until 2001.