About Us

Welcome to the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul, Ringwood. We are proud to be part of a two Parish Benefice consisting of a group of six churches covering the communities of Ringwood, Poulner, Bisterne, Ellingham, Harbridge and St Leonards and St Ives. 

Our beautiful church is open daily from 10am until 3.30pm.

The church as it stands today is probably the third Church building to stand on this site. The first, Saxon, building was mentioned in Domesday Book as holding half a hide of land and 8 slaves, a mill and 108 acres of meadow, indicating that by the year 1087 the Church here was both influential and if not rich, at least well endowed. That building was replaced in the middle of the thirteenth century by a Church similar in shape and style to the present one but slightly smaller. The tower may well have been a later addition.

Around the turn of the eighteenth century it was realised that the roof was in a very poor state and plans were made to replace it. However, architectural surveys showed that if the roof were removed the walls would themselves fall down and a more far-reaching rebuilding and enlargement was entered into. Eventually the Church was rebuilt between 1853 and 1855. The roof timbers and the pews were made of wood from the local Ringwood Forest.

Please take a look at our website https://www.ringwoodbenefice.org.uk/ to find out more.