Wikipedia

Bishopstone, Salisbury

(Redirected fromCroucheston)
Not to be confused withBishopstone, Swindon.

Bishopstoneis a village andcivil parishinWiltshire,England, in theEbblevalley about 5.5 miles (9 km) south-west ofSalisbury.The parish is on the county boundary with Hampshire and includes the small village ofCrouchestonand the hamlet ofThe Pitts(now Pitts Road).

Bishopstone
Houses under Netton Down, Bishopstone
Bishopstone is located in Wiltshire
Bishopstone
Bishopstone
Location withinWiltshire
Population717 (in 2021)[1]
OS grid referenceSU069257
Civil parish
  • Bishopstone
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSalisbury
Postcode districtSP5
Dialling code01722
PoliceWiltshire
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
WebsiteVillage
List of places
UK
England
Wiltshire
51°01′52″N1°54′11″W/ 51.031°N 1.903°W/51.031; -1.903

History

edit

The area was settled in prehistoric times. There was abowl barrownear Croucheston Down Farm[2]andGrim's Ditch,a prehistoricearthwork,forms the southern boundary of the parish.[3]TheRoman roadfromOld SarumtoDorchestercrosses the river near Throope.[4][5]

Before the 10th century, much of the land forming the present-day parish was part of a large estate called Downton. Early in the 10th century a manor at what is now Bishopstone was granted toWinchester Abbeyas an early endowment; around that time the whole river valley was known as Ebbesborne, and the village had the same name. A prefix "Bishop's" was sometimes used to distinguish the village from another in the same valley, and in the later Middle Ages the parish became known as Bishopstone; meanwhile the other village becameEbbesbourne Wake.[6][7]

TheDomesday Bookin 1086 divided the Chalke Valley into eight manors:Chelke(Chalke –Broad ChalkeandBowerchalke),Eblesborne(Ebbesbourne Wake),Fifehide(Fifield Bavant),Cumbe(Coombe Bissett),Humitone(Homington),Odestoche(Odstock),Stradford[8](Stratford Tonyand Bishopstone) andTrow(circaAlvedistonandTollard Royal).[9]

The parish contained six ancient townships, possibly since Saxon times, each with land bounded by the river. To the north of the river these were Bishopstone (with the parish church), Netton and Flamston; to the south, Throope, Faulston and Croucheston.[6]The roadside settlement known as The Pitts developed in the 19th century.[6]

Faulston

edit

Faulston (or Falston, Falstone)[10]manor was inherited in 1328 by Thomas Benton (d. 1358) whose descendants had surnames Baynton or Bayntun. The estate was confiscated from Sir Robert Baynton in 1475 for his support of Henry VI at theBattle of Tewkesbury,and granted toJohn Cheyne,later Baron Cheyne;[11]but returned in 1503 to Sir Robert's son John (d. 1516).[6]Sir John's son and heir SirEdward Bayntun(c.1480 – 1544) was a soldier and courtier who was a royal favourite, appointed vice-chamberlain to QueenAnne Boleynand later wives of Henry VIII. Sir Edward's second wife wasIsabel Leigh,half sister toCatherine Howard,Henry's fifth wife.[12]After Isabel's death in 1573, the manor was inherited by a younger sonHenry,who sat for several Wiltshire constituencies but "without leaving any mark on the known proceedings of the House".[13]

Henry sold the manor to Charles Vaughan in 1577, and it was inherited in 1584 by his grand-nephewWalter Vaughan(c.1572–1639) who sat in Parliament for one term, wasHigh Sheriffin 1599–1600, and laterdeputy lieutenant.[10]Arbella Stuartstayed for over a month from the end of October 1603, as the royal court moved from Winchester to Salisbury andWilton.[14]

The manor passed to his younger son George (knighted 1643), who commanded a regiment ofRoyalistcavalry at theBattle of Lansdowne.[15]After Wiltshire fell to theParliamentariansin 1645, they seized Sir George's house and used it as the meeting-place of the 'Falstone House Committee', which determined the fines to be paid by 47 Wiltshire Royalist supporters.[15]In 1649 the house's fortifications were ordered to be destroyed,[10]and Sir George sold the manor in that year to theearl of Pembroke.The house was rebuilt, although traces of a moat remain. The property remained with the Pembrokes until the farm was sold to its tenant in 1919.[6]

Settlements and notable buildings

edit
Rear of Bishopstone House

The site of Bishopstone village has only the church, the former rectory, Manor Farm and a few houses;[6]there are signs of adeserted medieval villageeast of the church.[16]The rectory, now called Bishopstone House, was built in yellow brick around 1820 to designs of Bath architectJohn Lowder;it was sold into private use in the 1950s.[17]Manor Farm was built in the early 19th century for the Wilton estate, the house in red brick and the later outbuildings in characteristic banded brick and flint.[18][16]

Throope has always been a small settlement. The main dwelling is Throope Manor, built in the early 18th century for the Button family and extended in 1935 forLord Essex.It may incorporate a 17th-century house,[6]and contains panelling from that century.[19]

Netton developed as alinear villagealong what is now Pitts Lane and Netton Street. Netton Old Farmhouse, two storeys in chequered flint and limestone under a thatched roof, has a 1637 date tablet.[20]To the west, the former Three Horseshoes Inn is from the 18th century.[21]Also in this area is the parish hall, built in 1885 and extended in 1921.[6]The White Hart pub, beside the road from Coombe Bissett to Broad Chalke, was a public house in 1792 but the present building is from the 19th century.[6]

Flamston was another linear village. A farm and two thatched cottages remain on Flamston Street.[6]

Croucheston House is a farmhouse from the late 18th century, in banded brick and flint.[22]Chapel Lane has the former Methodist chapel[23]and Sudbury House, from the late 17th century in brick and thatch, with a contrasting c.1800 addition in flint and brick.[24]Further south, 'Old Rafters' is a 16th-century timber-framed cottage, again brick, flint and thatch, altered in later centuries.[25]Next to the river is a corn mill which was in use until the 1990s and may be on the site of the mill recorded in the 13th century.[26]

Faulston House and dovecote

At Faulston, farmsteads were abandoned in the Middle Ages to leave only the manor house and its farm. The present Faulstone House is a rebuilding of c.1800 in dressed limestone and a tiled roof.[27]A tall dovecote from the early 17th century, in flint with dressed limestone bands under a conical tiled roof, isGrade II* listed;[28]it may have been part of the fortifications of the earlier house.[6]Farm buildings across the road were built in the mid-19th century in brick and flint bands for the Wilton estate.[29]Faulston had a corn mill with a house attached, downstream from the settlement and known as Lower Mill, which was in use until the 1940s.[26]

Religious sites

edit

Parish church

edit
Parish church

TheChurch of England parish churchof St John the Baptist isGrade I listed.[30]Traces of a 12th-century building are found in the rubble walls of the nave,[31]and a small blank arch with a Norman head.[16]By the late 13th century the church had a cruciform plan. It was rebuilt in the 14th century, with vaulted ceilings in the chancel, vestry and south transept; both transepts were originally chapels. The low tower at the crossing was built c.1406 and had a wooden spire until at least 1567. The two-storey porch was added in the same century. 19th-centuryrestorationincluded the rebuilding of the porch and a new east window.[6][31]

Julian Orbach, extendingNikolaus Pevsner's work in theBuildings of Englandseries, describes the church as big and impressive. He compares its style toEdingtonchurch which was also begun by a bishop of Winchester.[16]

There are several monuments outside. By the south transept, a small stone structure of two vaulted bays, buttressed and open on three sides, shelters a 13th-century decorated tomb chest, perhaps moved from elsewhere.[16]Pevsner calls this "the strangest of additions" and speculates that it is a memorial to the patron who built this part of the church.[32]

The priest's door on the south side of the chancel has a deep vaulted hood with anogeegable andcrocketparapet. Inside the church, a triplesediliahas ornately carved vaults and pinnacles. Orbach praises the vaulted roofs of the chancel and south transept.[16]The east window of 1898 is byPowell and Sons,paid for by a bequest of George Augustus Montgomery, rector from 1821[31]until his accidental death in 1842.[6]

In the north transept is a richly decorated tomb recess, with stone coffin-lids. Dominating the south transept is an ornately canopied monument of 1844 byA. W. Pugin,a memorial to Rev. Montgomery. Orbach calls it "super-Gothic".[16]Next to it is apiscinain similar style. At one time, above this was a window designed by Pugin and executed byWilliam Wailes;this has since been replaced by clear glass with re-set medieval pieces.[16]

The octagonal font is 14th-century with later carving. Some of the woodwork was brought from Seville in 1838 by Montgomery; Orbach describes the pulpit as "a disorderly assemblage of very good things".[16]The three bells in the tower were cast in 1583, 1587 and 1652, and are said to be in unringable condition.[33]

Parish

edit

By 1264 the church had a rector and a vicar, but from 1584 it was customary to appoint the same man to both positions. In 1815 the two benefices were united in a rectory.[6]The benefice ofStratford Tonywas united with Bishopstone in 1925, with the incumbent to live at Bishopstone, although the parishes remained distinct.[34]A group ministry was established for the Ebble valley in 1972,[35]and today the parish is part of the wider Chalke Valley Churches benefice alongside twelve others.[36][37]

Parish registers from 1636 are held at theWiltshire and Swindon History Centre,Chippenham.[31]

Notable incumbents

edit

Notable holders of the living, as rector and/or vicar, include:[6]

Others

edit

APrimitive Methodistchapel was opened in 1833 at Croucheston and continued in use until 1978.[23]

Amenities

edit

A school was built in Pitts Road in 1843 and educated children of all ages until 1932 when it became a junior school. It closed in 1977 due to falling pupil numbers.[6][40]

Bishopstone has a village hall.[41]It also has apub,theWhite Hart.There was another, theThree Horseshoes,in an 18th-century building,[21]but it closed in 2002.[26]

Throope Downis aSite of Special Scientific Interest,recognised for its variety of grasses, herbs and orchids.[42]

References

edit
  1. ^"Bishopstone (parish): population statistics, 2021 Census".CityPopulation.de.Retrieved5 August2024.
  2. ^Historic England."Croucheston Down Barn round barrow (1004772)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved22 October2015.
  3. ^Historic England."Grim's Ditch: Old Lodge Copse to Toyd Clump (1003457)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved22 October2015.
  4. ^Historic England."Knighton Roman road (1003728)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved22 October2015.
  5. ^"Map of Throope".Streetmap.co.uk.Retrieved7 January2022.
  6. ^abcdefghijklmnopBaggs, A. P.; Critall, Elizabeth; Freeman, Jane; Stevenson, Janet H. (1980). "Parishes: Bishopstone". In Crowley, D. A. (ed.).A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 11.Victoria County History.University of London. pp. 3–19.Retrieved3 January2022– via British History Online.
  7. ^Meers 2006,p. 4.
  8. ^Stratford Tonyin theDomesday Book
  9. ^Meers 2006,p. 5.
  10. ^abcLancaster, Henry."VAUGHAN, Sir Walter (c.1572-1639), of Falstone House, Bishopstone, Wilts".History of Parliament Online.Retrieved9 January2022.
  11. ^Ford, David Nash."John Cheney (c.1442-1499)".Royal Berkshire History.Retrieved8 January2022.
  12. ^Baker, T. F. T."BAYNTON, Sir Edward (by 1495-1544), of Bromham, Wilts".History of Parliament Online.Retrieved9 January2022.
  13. ^J. C. H."BAYNTON, Henry I, of Woodford, Wilts".History of Parliament Online.Retrieved9 January2022.
  14. ^Sara Jayne Steen,Letters of Arbella Stuart(Oxford, 1994), pp. 187-195.
  15. ^abPugh, R. B.;Crittall, Elizabeth, eds. (1957). "Parliamentary history: 1629–1660".A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 5.Victoria County History.University of London. pp. 132–154.Retrieved9 January2022– via British History Online.
  16. ^abcdefghiOrbach, Julian;Pevsner, Nikolaus;Cherry, Bridget(2021).Wiltshire.The Buildings Of England. New Haven, US and London:Yale University Press.pp. 141–145.ISBN978-0-300-25120-3.OCLC1201298091.
  17. ^Historic England."Bishopstone House (1284290)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved7 January2022.
  18. ^Historic England."Manor Farmhouse with attached stable range and dovecote (1318721)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved7 January2022.
  19. ^Historic England."Throope Manor (1183069)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved7 January2022.
  20. ^Historic England."Netton Old Farmhouse (1318743)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved7 January2022.
  21. ^abHistoric England."The Three Horseshoes (1318740)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved7 January2022.
  22. ^Historic England."Croucheston House (1146155)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved8 January2022.
  23. ^ab"Primitive Methodist Chapel, Bishopstone".Wiltshire Community History.Wiltshire Council.Retrieved21 October2015.
  24. ^Historic England."Sudbury House (1146156)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved8 January2022.
  25. ^Historic England."Old Rafters (1146157)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved8 January2022.
  26. ^abc"Bishopstone".Wiltshire Community History.Wiltshire Council.Retrieved9 January2022.
  27. ^Historic England."Faulstone House (1318741)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved8 January2022.
  28. ^Historic England."Dovecote at Faulston House (1146160)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved8 January2022.
  29. ^Historic England."Group of stables and dovecote opposite Faulston House (1146161)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved8 January2022.
  30. ^Historic England."Church of St John the Baptist, Bishopstone (1146195)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved25 August2015.
  31. ^abcde"Church of St. John the Baptist, Bishopstone".Wiltshire Community History.Wiltshire Council.Retrieved15 January2022.
  32. ^Pevsner, Nikolaus;Cherry, Bridget (revision)(1975) [1963].Wiltshire.The Buildings of England(2nd ed.). Harmondsworth:Penguin Books.pp. 115–117.ISBN0-14-0710-26-4.
  33. ^"Bishopstone, Wiltshire, S John Bapt".Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers.Retrieved11 January2022.
  34. ^"No. 33062".The London Gazette.30 June 1925. pp. 4361–4363.
  35. ^"No. 45811".The London Gazette.26 October 1972. p. 12603.
  36. ^"Bishopstone".Chalke Valley Churches.Retrieved11 January2022.
  37. ^"Bishopstone and Stratford Tony".A Church Near You.The Archbishops' Council.Retrieved11 January2022.
  38. ^Foster, Joseph(1888–1892)."Lear, Francis (1)".Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886.Oxford: Parker and Co – viaWikisource.
  39. ^Foster, Joseph(1888–1892)."Lear, Francis (2)".Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886.Oxford: Parker and Co – viaWikisource.
  40. ^"Church of England School, Bishopstone".Wiltshire Community History.Wiltshire Council.Retrieved21 October2015.
  41. ^"Community First - Bishopstone Village Hall, Salisbury".communityfirst.org.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved21 October2015.
  42. ^"Throope Down SSSI".Natural England.Retrieved7 January2022.
edit

Media related toBishopstone (near Salisbury)at Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bishopstone,_Salisbury&oldid=1253615108"