Arnewood House in Hordle was built in about 1811 by William Reynolds and was later acquired by Mrs Whitby of Newlands during her enlargement of that estate. Her daughter Theresa Whitby, who married Frederick West of Ruthin Castle, lived at Arnewood until Mrs Whitby’s death in 1850, when she moved into Newlands. By 1881 Arnewood was a girls’ boarding school.
The census of 1881 shows that the headmistress was Mary Banks and there were four governesses including a French mistress. The 36 students were aged between nine and 1, of which six were born in India, one in Australia and two in Buenos Aires.
There were six female servants including housemaids, a cook and a kitchen maid who were born in Hordle, Boldre, Norleywood and Pennington. The two male servants were a groom and a page.
