Awards Scheme
Design and Conservation Awards
The first awards for exemplary projects within Ringwood were given by The Ringwood Society in 1981, albeit on a more informal basis than today, and recipients were given a mention in the Society’s newsletter. The awards were later formalised in 1991 as the Certificate of Merit.
The scheme was relaunched in 2022, and are a way of The Ringwood Society identifying good new architecture and worthy conservation works of historic buildings, structures and elements within the town. This brings recognition to the best of design and conservation within our historic market town.
2025 Design and Conservation Awards, Sponsored by Lonsdale Wealth Management
The 2025 Design and Conservation Award winners were announced at our open meeting on 14th October 2025, with the presentations being made by by Society President, Steve Rippon-Swaine and Society Chairman, Alex Bancroft.
The 2025 winners were:
Residential Award
New Houses
Strides Lane
Williams Lester Architects for Monsreed Limited
Part of a wider scheme of development, the New Houses at Strides Lane replace a previous former pub car park with new residential houses in the heart of the historic centre of Ringwood. The attention to detail shown in the design, selection of materials and craftsmanship by the contractor have all combined to make these a worthy addition to the built fabric of the town. With ever increasing pressure for new homes across the district and county, this intelligent scheme shows how brownfield and central sites can be used to make a truly positive addition to our historic market town bringing vitality to its heart through the reintroduction of homes.
This scheme builds on the Hayward family’s long contribution to the built fabric of Ringwood after their previous award wins in 1997 and 1998, and also marks the fourth win for Williams Lester Architects after previously winning in 1991, 1997 and 2005. The Society was also particularly impressed with the inclusion of a date stone on the building, continuing a long tradition of dating buildings, which has become less prevalent in previous years.
Commercial Award
Restoration
Seldown House, 33 High Street
Winkle-Bottom Chartered Surveyors and Kennedy’s (Southern) Limited for Colston Trustees Limited
When WH Smith closed their Ringwood shop, reputed to be their smallest high street branch, in 2021, it was said the closure was only to be temporary. The decision to make this permanent in the following year left the town with a dilapidated property at the very heart of the historic High Street, and ended 200 years of a stationery-led business on the site.
The project team, on behalf of the client; Geoff Ralton, have worked tirelessly and with excellent attention to detail to restore the building. The Society was particularly impressed with the repairs to the timber shop front, the careful redecoration of the front elevation and the restoration of the metal framed windows on the first and second floor. Additionally, significant structural work has been undertaken within the building to ensure it is safe for occupation. The significant investment by the landlord has set the building up for, we hope, many future years of successful trade.
Commercial Award
New Signage
14 The Furlong Shopping Centre
Artful Charlie for Love to B Skincare
The Ringwood Society is always particularly supportive of traditional skills and the employment of a traditional signwriter to produce Love to B’s new signage is something we strongly support. The signage is entirely hand painted and the careful brushwork and selection of colours compliment the historic building that Love to B occupy.
The careful visual effect of hand painted signs really add to the traditional character and appearance of the retail landscape in our historic market town and we hope this will be a shining example to others of the visual benefit such techniques can bring to other buildings in the town.
Nominations
Visit the Award Nominations page for details of how to nominate a project for an award.
Previous Award Winners
View the previous award winners here.