Christchurch Road, previously known as Christchurch Street, is probably the most unaltered of all the main streets leading into Ringwood. The old photograph c1900 shows the unmade surface of the road, dusty in summer and muddy in winter.
The old timber-framed thatched cottages on the extreme left of this photograph were demolished in the 1920s and replaced by a furniture shop known as Rowbothams. This later became a surplus store and then a pine showroom until it too was demolished in 2001 and replaced by the new row of small houses which now occupy the site.
The rest of the street is almost unchanged. The white thatched cottages were later converted into a row of shops, known for many years in the 20th century as Geary’s. They now house Lindy Stuart Studio designer clothing, Beaux interior design, Northfield Builders, and Ying Thai therapy rooms. Note the thatch with its wooden guttering remains similar in both photographs. Netherbrook House can be seen set back from the road and then further old cottages in the background.
Article and photo kindly supplied by Mary Baldwin
Copyright © Mary Baldwin, Nov 2024
