The village lies on the old main road from Christchurch to Ringwood, on the east bank of the River Avon.

The parish extends east as far as Thorny Hill and includes the hamlets of Shirley, Avon and Ripley.

[3] It is also home to Moorlands College, one of the largest evangelical theological seminaries in the country, built on the site of the old manor house which was demolished in 1988.

[4] It is disputed whether this is the current mill; certainly parts of it are much younger: a third floor for flour storage was constructed in 1878 and the original undershot wheel was later superseded by a turbine.

[4] The Parish Church of St Michaels and All Angels stands on a high mound overlooking the mill and the River Avon.

It has been variously proposed that this high mound may have been the site of an earlier Pagan temple or the base camp of Jute invaders who travelled up the Avon from nearby Christchurch.

[4][9] In 1834 the manor house, then known as Sopley Park, was sold to John Kemp-Welch, a wealthy London merchant and owner of the Schweppes company.

The house was used as a nursing home and two independent schools at various times during its post-war history, and was demolished in 1988 to make way for a bible college.

[4] The house was notable for its three stained glass windows depicting the story of Walter Tirel, spelled locally as Tyrrell.

[4] RAF Sopley was a Royal Air Force base near the village, built in the early fifties as a domestic camp and used by the MOD until 1974.

Its was purpose to detect, locate and track enemy aircraft and provide inland radar coverage for Britain.

Initially a mobile station, by 1943 it was a permanent fixture with a rotating aerial array, transmitter equipment in an underground bunker, operations block, emergency back-up power supply and guard hut.

As part of the UK's programme to update its air defences, Sopley underwent much modernisation during the 1950s including a new guardhouse providing access to a two-storey underground operations centre.

The River Avon and the Dorset parish of Burton run along its western edge, and it extends eastwards into the New Forest as far as Thorny Hill.

The main Christchurch to Ringwood road passes through the centre of Sopley village where a one-way system helps these narrow byways cope with an often noticeable amount of traffic.

A small stream, known locally as Sopley Brook, cuts through the centre of the village and enters the River Avon south of the parish church of St. Michael and All Angels.

[citation needed] The meadows to the west of the village are part of the River Avon flood plain and designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

members of this family included: In 1602 the manor of Avon Tyrrell was sold by his descendant John Tyrrell to Bennett Wynchecombe and Giles Tooker, who sold it to Sir John Webb, 1st Baronet (d.1680),[16] of Odstock, Wiltshire (created a baronet in 1644), son of Sir John Webb, knight, of Odstock and of Great Canford, Dorset, by his second wife Catharine Tresham, daughter of Sir Thomas Tresham, of Rushton, Northamptonshire.

Much of the parish is within a conservation area and most of the buildings date back to the 19th century, although there are more modern houses to the north of the village.

[4] It is constructed from ironstone rubble dressed with Binstead stone from the Isle of Wight, and has stepped buttresses and lancet doors and windows.