Tower Hall Bed and Breakfast New Forest

The house and tower were conceived by Andrew Thomas Turton Peterson (1813-1906) whose career as a barrister saw him rise to leader of the Calcutta bar, eventually defending the Indian Princes of Delhi during the civil uprisings. During his time in India he became fascinated with two seemingly incongruous subjects, namely: spiritualism and methods of construction.

At the age of 55 he decided to retire and acquired a house in the ‘Manor of Arnewoood’ then called Drumduan where he built himself a mansion using concrete for a substantial part of the building. In those days little was proven in terms of concrete as a building material so Andrew Peterson decided that, to prove its value in construction, he would build a tower in his grounds that would stand six stories high with a spiral staircase. He would do this specifically using Portland cement based concrete.

The tower still stands today and is a testament to his beliefs. It is revered amongst aficionados as a landmark building of its time and we feel he would have been absolutely delighted if he were around today, to see the building so lovingly and skilfully restored by James Walrock the current owner.