点评:We are visiting the Ringwood area for a number of reasons but mainly to see if we can gain some first-hand experience of where some of my husband's ancestors were born, lived and died. After locating the Wesleyan Chapel (no longer a house of worship) and Coxstone Lane we strolled down the main high street looking for buildings that my husband's father and grandparents would have visited. There were many. Just before we left we wandered up a pathway that led us past The Meeting House and were just reading the sign outside that mentioned Ringwood history when a gentleman came out to take in the sign as the building was about to close. We spoke and he invited us in, despite it being technically past opening time, and we spent a fascinating hour listening to his very knowledgeable stories about it's history and facts about Ringwood and then exploring the building and archives. It was so interesting and ended with the gentleman, Brian, recommending that we visit Rockford Common which the census tells us is where a relative lived and died and which we had found coincidental because we live in a road named Rockford. As a result we spent a very happy afternoon walking the length of Rockford Common before returning to our temporary accommodation to do some online ancestry research. The Meeting House is, as others have said, a hidden gem but it needs your support too. Don't miss it!
翻译:我们去林伍德地区有很多原因,但主要是为了亲身体验我丈夫的一些祖先出生、生活和去世的地方。找到卫斯理教堂(现在已经不再是教堂了)和考克斯通巷后,我们沿着主街漫步,寻找我丈夫的父亲和祖父母可能去过的建筑。结果有很多。临走前,我们漫步在一条小路上,路过聚会所(The Meeting House),正读着外面提到林伍德历史的牌子,这时一位先生出来查看牌子,因为聚会所即将关门。我们聊了几句,他邀请我们进去,尽管严格来说已经过了开放时间。我们花了一个小时,听着他知识渊博地讲述林伍德的历史和趣事,然后参观了建筑和档案馆。这真是太有趣了,最后,这位先生,布莱恩,建议我们去罗克福德公地(Rockford Common),人口普查显示,我们一位亲戚曾在那里生活和去世,我们觉得这很巧合,因为我们住在一条名叫罗克福德的路上。结果,我们度过了一个非常愉快的下午,沿着罗克福德公园走了一圈,然后回到临时住处,在网上做了一些祖先研究。正如其他人所说,会议厅是一块隐藏的瑰宝,但它也需要你的支持。千万不要错过!