Farnborough Hill

Farnborough Hill is a catholic day school for girls aged 11 – 18 years old. for almost 150 years the School has been educating young women, offering them a ‘whole person’ approach to education.

The School opened in 1889 in another building down the road in Farnborough, called Hillside.

Thomas Longman, the publisher, began building the Farnborough Hill in 1860; his seals, the Ship and the Swan, can be seen adorning the façade of the Old House.

The exiled Empress Eugénie, widow of Emperor Napoleon III of France, bought the house from the Longmans in the late 19th century and, after a period of refurbishment and development to turn her ‘little country dwelling’ (as described in a letter to Queen Victoria) to a large home befitting her status as French Royalty, she moved in, living here from 1880 until her death in 1920. The Grand Salon, with its deep red walls, was one of the last rooms decorated by the Empress and has been carefully preserved by the School.

Crushed by the loss of her husband Napoleon III and the death in 1879 of her 23 year old son, the Prince Imperial, in the Zulu War, Empress Eugenie built St Michael’s Abbey as a monastery and Imperial Mausoleum. The Empress decreed that the trees between her Winter Garden (now part of our Library) and the Abbey should be maintained to allow her to see the final resting place of her beloved son and husband.

The Empress was an active member of the local community, visiting Hillside and hosting pupils and other local residents in her gardens. During WWI, she opened her home as a hospital for recovering soldiers, funding their care and taking a keen interest in their recovery.

She passed away in 1920, age 94, leaving her home and possessions to her nephew, Prince Victor Bonaparte. His subsequent death just six years later saw the house and grounds up for sale. The RCE purchased the house at Farnborough Hill in 1927.