Gorley Hill is the site of a former

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

promontory

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

located in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The fort once occupied the southwestern corner of Gorley Common on Gorley Hill, a gravel-capped spur that points southwest into the Avon valley next to the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

North Gorley North Gorley is a hamlet (place), hamlet in the New Forest National Park of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Fordingbridge, which lies approximately north of the hamlet. Location The hamlet of North Gorley sits on the western boundary of ...

, between the towns of

Fordingbridge Fordingbridge is a town and broader civil parish with a population of 6,000 on the River Avon in the New Forest District of Hampshire, England, near the Dorset and Wiltshire borders and on the edge of the New Forest, famed for its late medieva ...

and Ringwood. The earthworks were destroyed in the 1950s and '60s when the common's new owners carried out large-scale gravel extraction works, effectively "scalping" the hill. The tall linear earthen banks present on the hill are a relic of the quarrying process and not prehistoric in origin. The site is now grass, with some gorse and silver birch. The area is now owned and managed by

Hampshire County Council Hampshire County Council (HCC) is an English council that governs eleven of the thirteen districts geographically located within the ceremonial county of Hampshire. As one of twenty-four county councils in England, it acts as the upper tier of ...

Heywood Sumner George Heywood Maunoir Sumner (1853–1940) was originally an English painter, illustrator and craftsman, closely involved with the Arts and Crafts movement and the late-Victorian London art world. In his mid-forties he relocated to Cuckoo Hill, ...

carried out some excavation at the site which was published in his 1917 book ''Ancient Earthworks of the New Forest''.

Location

The site is located at , and lies between the hamlets of

South Gorley 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 south-west of the hamlet. The hamlet sits on t ...

and

, in the county of

. Immediately to the South lies Huckles Brook, a tributary of the River Avon, which itself lies to the west. The hill has a summit of 70m AOD.

References

__NOTOC__ {{Iron Age hillforts in England Iron Age sites in England Buildings and structures in Hampshire Hill forts in Hampshire Archaeological sites in Hampshire