South Gorley
Old school house at South Gorley
South Gorley Location within Hampshire
OS grid reference	SU161097
Civil parish	Ellingham, Harbridge and Ibsley
District	New Forest
Shire county	Hampshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	RINGWOOD
Postcode district	BH24
Dialling code	01590
Police	Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Fire	Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	New Forest West
List of places UK England Hampshire 50°53′11″N 1°46′19″W / 50.8865°N 1.7720°W / 50.8865; -1.7720

South Gorley is a hamlet in the New Forest National Park of Hampshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Ellingham, Harbridge and Ibsley. Its nearest town is Ringwood, which lies approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) south-west of the hamlet.

The hamlet sits on the western boundary of the New Forest National Park, about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) south of North Gorley. The River Avon lies just to the west.

History

The name Gorley means "triangular wood/clearing".^[1] In 1086 Osbern the Falconer held the manor of Gorley from the King.^[2] The part which became South Gorley was for most of its history included in and followed the descent of Ibsley, in particular that part of Ibsley which John atte Bere had owned in the 14th century.^[3] South Gorley was, unlike North Gorley, in the parish of Ibsley,^[3] and it is now part of the civil parish of Ellingham, Harbridge and Ibsley. The old village school of Ibsley, built in 1874 by the Earl of Normanton, was at South Gorley.^[3]

In 1902 the artist Heywood Sumner acquired a plot land at Cuckoo Hill near South Gorley. He designed and built a house there where he lived from 1904 until his death in 1940 at the age of 87. The house is now a care home.^[4]