RINGWOOD UNION is in Fordingbridge County Court District. Its annual expenditure during the last eight years has averaged about £3,400. Its WORKHOUSE is at Ashley,in Ringwood parish, and was built for that parish in 1725. It has room for about 100 paupers. The guardians meet every Monday, from october to April, and on alternate Mondays during the rest of the year. Five of them are elected yearly for Ringwood parish, and one for each of the other four parishes of Ibsley, Ellingham, Harbridge, and Burley-Ville. W.C.D. Esdaile, Esq., is the chairman; and Mr Henry St. John Neale is the Union Clerk and Superintendent Registrar. Mr Wm Buckland and Mrs. Jane McDaniel are master and matron of the Workhouse, and Harriet Pilbrow, shoolmistress. Saml. Summer Dyer, Esq., and Dr. F.J.W. Packman are the union surgeons. Mr. George Holloway is the relieving officer; and Mr Stephen Ayles is the registrar of births, deaths and marriages. RINGWOOD POLLING DISTRICT for South Hants, comprises all the parishes, &c., in Ringwood, Christchurch, and Fordingbridge Unions, and has about 620 voters.

RINGWOOD, though a small ancient market town, with only about 3000 inhabitants, has a lively and somewhat metropolitan air about it, owing to its being a great thoroughfare, and the capital of a large Parish Union, Polling District, Hundred, and Police Division, as notice above. It is pleasantly situated about 20 miles W.S.W of Southampton, 28 miles S.W. of Winchester, 18 miles S. of Salisbury, 6 miles S. of Fordingbridge, and 92 miles W.S. of London; on the western side of the New Forest, and on the eastern side of the river Avon, which spreads out both above, and below the town into several channels and broad sheets of water, among the low meadows, where there are many small islands, and the turnpike passes westward over a succession of small bridges and culverts. Here is a Railway Station, on the London & South Western line, near the river, and consists chiefly of High street, Christchurch street, New street, and Up street which form almost one continuous thoroughfare, nearly a mile in length. Though it has been much improved during the present century, it still retains some of its old thatched houses and cottages. Ringwood Parish increased its population from 3222 in 1801 to 3928 in 1851; and extends over no less than 10,895A. 2R. 28P. of land, divided into the five tithings of Ringwood Town, Burley, North Ashley, Kingston, and Bisterne-and-Crow, except about 546 acres, which are in Burley Walk, and 25 acres in Holmesley Walk, within the New Forest. This large parish extends about four miles south, two miles west, and six miles east of the town; and includes several small villages and many scattered houses. Ashley tithing is on the west side of the Avon, but the rest of the parish is on the eastern side of the vale; extending in bold undulations to the richly wooded moorlands of the New Forest. In the time of Edward the Confessor and at Domesday Survey, Ringuede was held in demesne by the King, and had a wood for 189 hogs, from which it is supposed to have derived its name, said to be a corruption of Regnum Wood or King's-wood. Camden has erroneosly placed here the Roman station Regnum, which other antiquaries, with greater probability, have fixed at Chichester. Several writers say that the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth was taken in a field near Ringwood, for which courts leet and baron are held. Among the other Manors in the parish and their lords are - Leybrook, the Earl of Malmesbury; Ringwood Rectory, the Provost and Scholars of King's College, Cambridge; Bisterne-and-Crow, John Mills, Esq., North Ashley, the Earl of Normanton; and Burley, W.C.D. Esdaile, Esq. Many smaller freeholders have estates in the parish, and some of the them pleasant seats. Ringwood has long been celebrated for the manufacture of a peculiar kind of Knit Woollen and Cotton Gloves, and Worsted Stockings. In knitting these useful articles, Mr. Chas. Cox employs about 500 women and children. Here is also a leather glove manufactory. The town has long been noted for strong ale; and has now two breweries, a tannery, two saw mills, a corn mill, several good inns, and many well stocked shops. A market for corn, lean stock, &c., is held every Wednesday; and on every alternate Wednesday here is now a large Fat Cattle Market. The latter was established in March, 1858, as a mart for the numerous graziers in the fertile vales of the Avon and the Stour, where the rearing and feeding of stock has been greatly extended and improved during the last twenty years, though there was previously no fat stock market nearer than Salisbury. This new fortnightly stock market is rapidly rising in importance, being much resorted to by butchers and dealers from Portsmouth, Southampton, and other populous places, with which there is a direct railway communication. The weekly market is also so much improved that the erestion of a Corn Exchange is in contemplation. Mr Richard Brown is inspector of corn returns. Two annual fairs for cattle, &c., are held here on July 10th and December 11th. Salmon, trout, tench, eels, and other fish are plentiful in the river Avon and some of its tributary streams. The Market House is a small unsightly building, erected by the lord of the manor, about the year 1700. PETTY SESSIONS are held at the Crown Hotel, on the first Wednesday of every month, and Mr. Robert Davy is clerk to the magistrates . The GAS WORKS were constructed in 1851, at the cost of about £2000, raised in £10 shares. A Literary and Scientific Institution, established here in 1854, has a small library, and occasional lectures.

RINGWOOD PARISH CHURCH(St. Peter & St. Paul) was a very ancient cruciform structure, but it was so much decayed and disfigured by patchwork repairs, that it was gradually taken down in 1852, -'3, and '4, and rebuilt at the cost of about £6000 exclusive of the chancel which was restored by the patrons at the cost of about £1000. Towards rebuilding the nave and tower, about £2400 was raised by subscription and grants; and £4250 was borrowed, to be repayed in twenty yearly instalments. The church is now a spacious and handsome structure, with nearly 1600 sittings, of which 766 are free. It has a large nave, chancel, and transept, with with a massive tower rising in the centre to the height of about 100 feet, and containing eight bells. The chancel is 52 feet by 22, with a lofty triplet at the east end, and eight continuous lights on the north and south sides, with Purbeck marble shafts supporting the internal arch-mouldings. An ancient piscina, witha deep trefoiled arch and double basin, is inserted in the south wall. A mutilated brass, on the floor, represents a priest, in a richly ornamented cope. The west window is enriched with stained glass in memory of the two wives of Chas. Castlewoman, Esq. On the walls are neat monuments belonging to the Bright, Compton, Willis. and other families. The spacious nave is handsomely fitted up with open seats, and has a good organ. The benefice is a VICARAGE, valued at K.B. at £75. 5s. 5d., and now at £960, with the curacies of Bisterne and Harbridge annexed to it, in the patronage of the Provost and Scholars of King's College, Cambridge, and incumbency of the Rev. Charles Henry Maturin, M.A., who has a good Vicarage House, erected in 1818. The tithes were commuted in 1844, for £926 to the vicar and £1104. 7s to the Provost and Scholars of King's College, who have also a rectorial manor here. The south end of Ringwood parish forms Bisterne chapelry, and a small part of its eastern side is in the church district of Burley-ville, as afterwards noticed. In the town are two INDEPENDENT CHAPELS. The old one, built in 1762, is under the ministry of the Rev. George harris, and the new one(Ebenezer,) built in 1852, is in the pastoral care of the Rev. John Oswald Jackson. There is a small WESLEYAN CHAPEL in Christchurch street; a BAPTIST CHAPEL at Poulner; and an UNITARIAN CHAPEL in Chapel Lane. The latter was built in 1727, and the Rev. John Porter is its minister. In 1774, Christopher Lake left £150 to be invested in the funds, towards the support of the Unitarian Chapel, to which Wm Clark, Esq., the founder of the Almshouses, in 1841, left £2600 three per cent. consols, to be applied as follows;- the dividends of £1500 towards support of the minister; of £400 for the organist; of £400 for schooling the poor children; of £200 for distributions of bread among the poor of the congregation; and the dividends of the remaining £100 to be applied in providing books. An old Friends' Meeting House in the parish is now rented by the Wesleyans.

THE NATIONAL SCHOOLS, with a house for the teachers, were built in 1848 at the cost of about £1300, on land given by Chas. Castleman, Esq. They are attended by about 150 boys, 120 girls and 130 infants. The old Free School, in the churchyard, has been pulled down, and its endowment is now applied in aid of the National Schools. This endowment comprises a yearly rent-charge of £13. 6s. 8d. out of Westover estate, left by Richd. Lyne in 1586, together with 30s. a year out of a house in West street; a yearly rent-charge of £5 out of a farm at Lower Kingston, purchased with £100 left by John Pitt in 1712; and the dividends of £351. 12s. 2d. three per cent. consols, purchased with £356 left by John Atrill in 1799.

The ALMSHOUSES, in Quomp field, were founded by the late Wm. Clark, Esq., an eminent brewer, who gave the site and gardens (1A. 1R.) in 1833, and at his death in 1842 left £2100 for the erection of the almshouses; £200 to provide for their repairs; and £2500 to be invested for the support of the inmates. The almshouses were built in 1843, and form a handsome range of six comfortable tenements, now occupied by 12 poor people, men and women. The inmates are to be "decayed tradesmen or other poor old persons of Ringwood parish, that have been in better circumstances, and have been reduced through illness or other unavoidable causes." No paupers are to be admitted. The trustees are Messrs. Richd. Garrett, Robt. Davy, G.B. Conway, C. Sharp, G.H. Benson, J.B. Kingsbury, Wm. Coles, Isaac Veal, Alex. Carter, Saml. Dyer, Wm. Wheaton, and Fredk. Veal. The founder left other legacies for various charitable uses; among which were £500 to the Ringwood Friendly Society; £100 to the "Picket Post Club;" £1000 for apprenticing poor children; and £800 to provide for the yearly distribution of coats, cloaks, and blankets among the poor parishioners. THOS. LYNE in 1621 charged Bradford Farm with several yearly rent-charges; one of which is £3 for the poor of Ringwood, and another is £6 towards the support of a scholar at Oxford or Cambridge from the free schools at Ringwood,Wimborne-Minster, or Sherborne. The poor of Ringwood have £9. 5s. yearly, and the Vicar 10s. from Brown's Charity. Every fourth year, the poor of Ringwood have £5 from Dodington's Charity. They have also the following annual rent-charges, viz., 5s. out of Up-Mead, left by JohnThaine; 20s. out of Bradford Farm, left by Chpr. Garrett in 1621; £6, left by John Lyne, out of Waterman's Estate, for monthly distributions of bread at the church; and 20s. out of a house in Butcher row, Salisbury, purchased with £20, left by Jane Burch in 1660. Waterman's Estate is also charged by the same donorwith £6 per annum for monthly sermons. In 1722, Richard Lyne left 25s. a year out of Burley manor for the poor of High-Town and Poulner, on New Year's day. Mrs. Mary Baldwin left the dividends of £50 three per cent. consols, to be distributed in sixpences among poor widows of the parish on St. Thomas's day, by the Vicar. The Unity Lodge of Freemasons No. 154, meets monthly at the White Hart Hotel. There is a Lodge of Foresters at the New Inn; and among the other provident institutions of the parish are several friendly Societies, and the Ringwood and South Hants Building and Investment Society. Mr William Wheaton is the clerk of the latter.

TITHINGS, &c., IN RINGWOOD PARISH.- North Ashley tithing, on the west side of the Avon, extends from 1 to 2 miles W. and N.W. of the town, and comprises 1970A. 1R. 38P. of fertile land, mostly belonging to the Earl of Normanton. KINGSTON tithing includes the small villages of Upper and Lower Kingston and Moortown, about 2 miles S. and S.S.E. of Ringwood; and has an Independent Chapel and School, built in 1842, on land given by John Morant, Esq., the late lord of the manor. POULNER is a scattered suburb on the east side of Ringwood, where there is a Baptist Chapel.

BISTERNE-AND-CROW TITHING extends from one to three miles S. by E. of Ringwood, and includes the small villages of Crow and Sandford ; several scattered houses; and Bisterne Park, the seat of John Mills, Esq., the lord of the manor. Near the Park is BISTERNE CHURCH (St. Paul), which was built as a chapel of ease in 1843, at the cost of £2400, mostly subscribed by John Mills, Esq., who also hgave land for the sire and burial ground; and erected the school in 1840, at the cost of £350. The curacy is annexed to Ringwood vicarage, and the Rev. H.M.Wilkinson, B.A. is the officating curate. This chapelry district has about 350 inhabitants. Mrs. Mills supports the school, and partly clothes the girls. There is a Wesleyan Chapel at Crow, built in 1833.

BURLEY Tithing, on the east side of Ringwood parish, extends into the New Forest, where it includes 570 acres of Burley Walk and 23 acres in Holmesley Walk. Most of these extensive and thickly - wooded forest walks are extra parochial. the former contains 7740 acres, and the latter 8280 acres. Burley Walk has thirteen, and Holmesley Walk thirty-one inhabitants. Adjoining them is BROOMY WALK, which has 166 inhabitants and 6880 acres, all extra parochial, except 430 acres in Ellingham parish. This Walk includes Linford, Shobley, Picket Post, Holly Hatch, &c. BROOMY LODGE, on an eminence in the heart of the forest, seven miles from Lyndhurst and six from Fordingbridge, is the seat of Jacon Birt, Esq. The other principal inhabitants in Broomy Walk are, Thomas Adams, farmer, Linford; Wm. Phillips, Farmer, Foulford; James Tanner, swine, &c. dealer; and Henry Hayter, Richard Mitchell, John Pitt, and James warland, farmers, in Shobley. Mr. D. Backhouse is master of Christchurch Road Station, which is in Burley Walk, six miles E. by S. of Ringwood.

BURLEY-VILLE, or BURLEY-WITH-THE-VILL OF BISTERNE CLOSES, about 5 miles E. by S. of Ringwood, and 2 miles N.w. of Christchurch Road Station, was made a parochial township at the enclosure of Burley Walk during the last century. It is within the south-western bounds of the New Forest, and contains 535A. 3R. 34P. of land. It increased its population from 241 in 1801 to 535 in 1851. The lord of the manor is Wm. C.D. Esdaile, Esq., of BURLEY PARK, which has a large and handsome mansion in the Early English style. commanding delightful views of rich forest scenery. BURLEY COTTAGE is the retired woodland seat of Mrs. H.A.Roberts, the poetess. Lawrence Hill, John Baldwin, and Sampson Edwards, Esqrs., have estates here, as also have several smaller freeholders. BURLEY CHURCH (St. John) was built by subscription and grants, in 1839, at the cost of about £1000. It is a small brick edifice, with a cupola and bell, and has 290 sittings, of which 284 are free. BURLEY CHURCH DISTRICT , formed in 1840, under the 1st & 2nd of Wm. IV., had 823 inhabitants in 1851, of whom 533 were in Burley-ville and Bisterne Closes, 113 in the extra-parochial parts of Burley Walk, in the New Forest; and 77 in the Burley tithing, in Ringwood parish. The benefice is a perpetual curacy, valued at £92, in the patronage of the Bishop of Winchester, and incumbency of the Rev. John Kershaw Craig, who has a picturesque residence, on a commanding eminence. Here is an Independent Chapel built in 1842, at the cost of about £400. The Rev. Henry Jenkins is the minister. The PAROCHIAL SCHOOL was built in 1841, at the cost of £140, and enlarged in 1855, at the cost of about £500. The master has a good residence and two acres of land. For teaching eight poor free scholars he has £3 a year, left in 1829 by Thomas Eyre; who also left £21 a year towards the suppoprt of the "minister of Burley meeting-house", and £3 a year for distribution in shoes petticoats, and blankets, among twelve poor women or girls. These annuities are derived from three per cent. consols. The poor of Burley have £10 a year out of land left by Wm. Etheridge, in 1716, and those of Bisterne Closes have £2 a year out of Waterman's estate, left by John Lyne.

In the following DIRECTORY OF BURLEY AND THE VILLAGE OF BISTERNE CLOSES, those not otherwise stated are mostly in the latter. The POST OFFICE is at J.W.Head's, in Burley. Letters via Ringwood. Trains from Christchurch Road Station.

RINGWOOD PARISH DIRECTORY

Those marked 2 are in Bisterne-and-Crow Tithing; 3, North Ashley; 4, in Kingston; 5, in Poulner; and the others in the Town, or where stated.

The POST-OFFICE is at Miss Sarah Benson's, High street. Letters are despatched by rails, at 9 1/2 morning; 2 afternoon; and 10 night. Money oreders are granted and paid. The Letter Carriers are Alfred Colborn, for the town; John Wood to Poulner, &c., and John Broomfield to Burley, &c.