Ringwood Pest Control is named after Ringwood in Hampshire.

Ringwood is situated by the River Avon on the east side of The New Forest National Park and is a 15 minute drive from both Bournemouth and Salisbury and 20 minutes from Southampton. There is weekly market every Wednesday in a traditional market place at the far end of the High Street in front of the Main Ringwood Church.

Shopping

The town has excellent local shops including The Furlong shopping centre which is home to a Waitrose supermarket, coffee shops and fashion outlets. The town also has also has a Sainsbury's, Iceland and many other shops Including top names such as Clarks, Fat Face, Hobbs, Jaeger, Phase 8 and Crew clothing there is also a large variety of small shops and boutiques.

One of my favourite shops is Oasis Musical Instruments Ltd, which by kind permission of Hank B Marvin and Bruce Welch O.B.E. in August 2009, Oasis released The Shadows 50th Anniversary Collector Outfit featuring a Fender Custom Shop Masterbuilt 1959 Stratocaster in a special shade of red. They have two premises one at 3 West Street which is the place to find all the major makes of electric guitar and amplifiers, and just round the corner in Strides lane they have a massive acoustic showroom with stock including (Taylor, Gibson, Martin, Guild, Huss & Dalton, Brooke plus many more. At both premises they hold an extensive stock ranging from guitars for beginners to top level professional's.

Music

Having already written about the superb music shop in Ringwood, we also have a host of talented musicians living here. Many of the local pubs put on live music and also give the younger musicians a chance to get up and play. These include The Elm Tree at Hightown, (my local) Finn Mc Calls,  The Inn On the Furlong and The London Tavern to name but a few. We also have many famous people including professional musicians living in and around Ringwood as they find it a town where they can live at ease and mingle in amongst the locals without being hassled. (This is another thing I love about Ringwood the people are very friendly but also respectful).

Evenings out

Ringwood is the home of the Ringwood Brewery, which produces a variety of cask ales and runs five pubs in the local area, such as the Inn on the Furlong. It was taken over by Marston's Brewery, who kept the brewery and all its brands and continue lease out its tied public houses. There are many other public houses in and around Ringwood and most of these provide good food.  There are also plenty of restaurants providing for all tastes including Italian, Tia, Indian, Chinese, Traditional English cordon bleu, plus Fish & Chip Shops, Chinese, Indian and Turkish (Kebabs etc) take aways.

Schools

The senior school is Ringwood School, a specialist language academy. Ringwood School has a radio station run by students which started in 2006. The school also participates in other citizenship projects and hosts many after school clubs for specialist subjects such as photography, music and drama. The state primary schools are Ringwood Junior, Poulner Junior, Ringwood Church of England Infants and Poulner Infants. Plus there are several private schools (including Moyles Court).

Sport

Ringwood is home to Ringwood Town Football club which enters both junior and senior teams in both the Hampshire and Dorset FA leagues and The Ellingham and Ringwood Rugby Club providing sporting opportunities for males and females. The Rugby Club has a new facility near to the school in Parsonage Barn Lane including a club house and changing rooms. Also Speedway is staged at the nearby Matchams Park Stadium along with stock car racing.

Facilities for children

There is an excellent skate park in Carver's Field and many other play parks for younger children. There are several Girl Guide and Scout groups in Ringwood catering for school-age children. Other clubs include the sports clubs at the Ringwood leisure centre. Ringwoods Leisure Centre, maybe familiar to some as many of the scenes of the TV series The Brittas Empire were filmed here.

History

Ringwood is steeped in history and is recorded in a charter of 961, The name most likely was a reference to Ringwood's position on the fringe of the New Forest, on the border of Hampshire. Ringwood also features in the Domesday Book of 1086, in which a mill in Ringwood is also mentioned. 

Prior to 1066 Ringwood had been held by Earl Tostig. During the 12th and early 13th centuries Ringwood, like other manors of which John and Henry III had the immediate overlordship, frequently changed hands. In January 1331 Ringwood was granted to William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury, whose descendants with some intermission held it for more than two centuries, until the death of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury in 1541. It was held by Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset until his execution in 1552, and then briefly by John Gates who was executed in 1553. Queen Mary then granted the lands to Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon, but by the middle of the 17th century the manor had passed to the Arundells of Wardour, and in 1728 was in the hands of Henry Arundell, 6th Baron Arundell of Wardour. His grandson, the eighth Baron, sold it in 1794 to John Morant of Brockenhurst, and the Morant family held the manor throughout the 19th century.

In March 1226 Henry III granted a weekly market in Ringwood on Wednesdays to Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke and his wife. In 1337 the Earl of Salisbury, as lord of Ringwood Manor, was granted a yearly fair on the feast-day of Saint Andrew (30 November) and another fair was held on the feast of Saint Peter (29 June) in the 16th century.

After the Battle of Sedgemoor on 6 July 1685, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth was arrested near Horton, Dorset. Monmouth was then taken to the house now named Monmouth House in West Street (between the Market Place and the Fish Inn). It was there that he wrote a letter to James II begging forgiveness, this was not granted, and he was tried in the Tower of London by the infamous "Hanging Judge Jefferies".

Also after the Battle of Sedgemoor, an elderly local lady, Alice Lisle, gave refuge to two wanted men who were escaping from the battle. Alice was sentenced by Judge Jefferies to be burned at the stake, but after a late reprieve the sentence was reduced to beheading, a pub is now named after her The Alice Lisle near her former home of Moyles Court  (now a school).

Ringwood Parish Church

The parish includes the hamlets of Poulner, Hangersley, Hightown, Crow, Kingston, and Bisterne. The church in Ringwood is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. It was rebuilt in the 13th century, and survived until 1853 when it was completely knocked down and rebuilt.

The Town Hall

The Town Hall was erected by John Morant in 1868.

Ringwood railway

Ringwood railway station opened in 1847. It lay on the former Southampton and Dorchester Railway. In 1862 the Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway created a new link with Christchurch, but the line to Christchurch was closed in 1935, and the station ceased operating when the Southampton and Dorchester Railway line was closed in 1964. A report from the Association of Train Operating Companies in 2009 recommended rebuilding part of the line from Brockenhurst to Ringwood, so watch this space?