Bishopstrow

Bishopstrow is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the southeastern edge of the town of Warminster. The village is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the town centre, and the parish extends northeast from the Wylye valley onto Salisbury Plain.

Bishopstrow

St. Aldhelm's church, Bishopstrow
Bishopstrow
Location within Wiltshire
Population122 (in 2011)[1]
OS grid referenceST893438
Civil parish
  • Bishopstrow
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWarminster
Postcode districtBA12
Dialling code01985
PoliceWiltshire
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament

The village lies south of the old Warminster to Salisbury road, formerly the A36, now the B3414. The modern A36 passes to the south of the village.

History

The name may come from "bishop's tree", meaning the place where St Aldhelm's staff miraculously grew into an ash tree.[2] When Bishopstrow was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 it was held by Edward of Salisbury.[3]

In the 18th century Bishopstrow House stood between the Salisbury road and the river. In 1817 William Temple built a new house on the north side of the road using the Bath architect John Pinch the elder, which has been operated as a hotel and restaurant since 1977.

In the north of the parish, almost half of its area falls within the Imber Range military training zone.[4]

Governance

The parish is considered too small to support a parish council, so instead it has a parish meeting,[5] a body in which all electors for the parish are voting members. Almost all local government functions are carried out by Wiltshire Council, a unitary authority created in 2009. The village is represented in parliament by Andrew Murrison,[6] and in Wiltshire Council by Christopher Newbury, both Conservatives.[7]

Amenities

The Church of England parish church of St Aldhelm is a Grade II* listed building.[8] The site may have been in use since the 8th century; the building is from the 14th century, rebuilt (except for the tower and spire) in 1757 and restored in 1876.[2]

Bishopstrow College is an independent school for children aged 7–17 who do not have English as their first language.[9] There is no state school in the parish; a two-room school was built in the village in 1848 and closed in 1921.[2]

Notable people

References
  1. "Wiltshire Community History - Census". Wiltshire Council. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  2. "Victoria County History – Wiltshire – Vol 8 pp6-13: Bishopstrow". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  3. Bishopstrow in the Domesday Book
  4. "Imber Range Perimeter Path" (PDF). GOV.UK. Defence Estates. 2006. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  5. "Bishopstrow Parish Meeting". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  6. "Dr Andrew Murrison: MP for South West Wiltshire". Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  7. "Christopher Newbury". westwilts-communityweb.com. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  8. Historic England. "Church of St Aldhelm, Bishopstrow (1284263)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  9. "Bishopstrow College". Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  10. Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, of Great Britain and Ireland (S. Low, Marston & Company, 1923), p. 432: "Rear-Adm. Hon. Herbert Edward Holmes-à Court, b. 16 Feb. 1869. Residence — Bishopstrowe, Warminster."
  11. "No. 57445". The London Gazette. 22 October 2004. p. 13359.
  12. Annual Register March 1777

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