Also in that year the Workhouse on the Verwood Road at Ashley was built to accommodate the poor people of the Parish. The Meeting House in Meeting House Lane was built in 1727 and has been successfully restored.
In 1792 the Manor of Ringwood was sold to John Morant of Brockenhurst by Lord Arundell of Wardour for £23,000. Most of the Manor was sold by the Morants in a sale in 1916. However the family still hold an interest in the Market Square.
The Crown Inn in 1800 was in the Market Place and was a staging post for the Mail Coaches on their way to London from the south coast to change horses. about 1800 but during the next 40 years it had risen to 3700. In 1830 the area was troubled by the agricultural riots when farm workers were afraid that their jobs were in danger by the use of thrashing machines. There was also a lot of building going on in the mid 1800’s
Many churches being built or rebuilt. Bransgore 1822, Ibsley 1832, Harbridge 1838, Burley 1839, Bisterne 1842 and our Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul was rebuilt in 1853/55.
The opening of the railway in 1847 put Ringwood on the Map being on the main line from London to Dorchester and places further west. Charles Castleman being the driving force behind the project. The line was christened Castlemens Corkscrew due to its lack of straight sections.
Employment in the area had been mainly agricultural with cottage industries of knitting gloves. Joseph Armfield came to Ringwood in 1875 to improve agricultural engineering. Gravel extraction came in 1930’s. Wellworthy Engineering 1943. Rollalong Caravans and Wright Rain Limited have provided livelihoods for Ringwood people in recent times.
