On 6th February 2022 Her Majesty The Queen became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years of service to the people of the United Kingdom, the Realms and the Commonwealth. To celebrate this unprecedented anniversary, events and initiatives took place throughout the year. This page highlights just a few of the wonderful ways that the community marked this historic milestone, in particular during the bank holiday in June.
In recognition of Her Majesty The Queen’s 70th year as our Monarch and Head of the Commonwealth, more than 2,000 beacons were lit throughout the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories, and one in each of the capital cities of Commonwealth countries.
The location for the beacon in Ringwood was the top of the tower of the Church of St Peter and Paul in the Market Place where it could be seen for several miles.
The whole community were invited to attend and despite the later hour, young and old gathered in the Market Plce to watch this historic event. Ringwood and Burley Band started proceedings by showcasing tunes from across the United Kingdom. The Mayor of Ringwood, Cllr Gareth DeBoos said a few words and then we followed the national programme with an individual piper playing 'Balmoral', followed by a bugle call and the lighting of the beacon at 9:45pm.
We are grateful to Gill Tybjerg from Ringwood Benefice who co-ordinated a wonderful community choir to sing the unique ‘Song for Commonwealth’ which was written for the occasion- the idea being ‘voices around the globe joining together in celebration’. 45 people attended practices for the choir and they did a spectacular job.
You can view a short film with highlights from this remarkable event here.
Our big celebratory event took place at Carvers Recreation Groun. It was a day for the whole community to come together. Families brought picnics, dressed up in red, white and blue and enjoyed the huge array of entertainment from live music to Punch and Judy, inflatable obstable courses to circus skills. The weather held out until late afternoon and a few hearty souls stayed to dance in the rain with the wonderful Swing Unlimited. To download a copy of the programme, please click here.
Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of Ringwoodians, the event raised £1500 on the gate for charities as well as a great amount at the charity bar.
To relive the best bits of the day, please click here. Thank you again to the talented Jay Cox for capturing these special moments.
A wide range of events took place over the bank holiday including live music in the Furlong Centre, a garden party with afternoon tea at Greyfriars Community Centre and dozens of street parties across the Town.
Other events took place throughout the year. A special oak was planted at Greyfriars Community Centre and RACE (Ringwood Actions for Climate Emergency) organised for one tree to be planted for each class at Poulner Infants, Poulner Juniors, Ringwood Infants and Ringwod Juniors as well as 3 for Ringwood School. The trees were planted as part of the orchard at Four Acre Farm where the children will be able to go and see them grow.
We have included lots of photos taken to mark the occassion and would like to say a big thank you to Paddy Butler (ariel shots), Derek Maidment, RACE, Greyfriars Community Centre, Trevor Pogson and the Furlong Centre for their permission to use their photos here.
Nov
Over the Remembrance period there are a number of commemorative services taking place for the people of Ringwood to come together to remember and honour the service and sacrifice of all those that defended our freedoms and protected our way of life.
Oct
At the Full Council meeting on 30 October 2024, representatives from three local organisations were invited to collect a certificate of grant aid, in recognition of the grants that had been awarded by the Council.
Oct
This year marks the 10th anniversary of lighting a lantern at Ringwood Gateway to honour all the brave individuals from our community who lost their lives while serving in the Armed Forces during World War I and World War II.
