Bishopstoke
| Bishopstoke | |
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 Bishopstoke has a gravel beach which is created by fluctuations in the height of the River Itchen |
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 Bishopstoke
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| Bishopstoke shown within Hampshire | |
| Population | 9,974 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SU472189 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Eastleigh |
| Postcode district | SO50 |
| Dialling code | 023 |
| Police | Hampshire |
| Fire | Hampshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Bishopstoke, a village recorded in the Domesday Book, is a civil parish in the borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. At the 2011 Census the village was a civil parish in its own name. Bishopstoke was also mentioned when King Alfred the Great's grandson King Eadred, granted land at "Stohes" to Thegn Aelfric in 948 AD. The village is about a mile east of Eastleigh town centre, and is on the eastern bank of the River Itchen. It adjoins Fair Oak on the east, in the Fair Oak and Horton Heath parish. The village was annexed to Eastleigh in 1932, and was split out again as an independent civil parish later. It forms part of the Southampton Urban Area.
The Itchen Valley navigation running between Winchester and Southampton was completed in 1710 and used until 1869. Bishopstoke includes a sizeable proportion of the navigation, including a sluice that was in use until the closure of the navigation.
Bordering the village to the North and comprising around 207 hectares, the Stoke Park Woods area contains 61% woodland and 39% arable land. It is home to many species, including the rare quaking grass. Originally these woods were owned by the Bishop of Winchester. King John of England hunted these woods in 1205. In 1540 they were licensed by King Henry VIII as a deer hunt enclosed by fences. They were purchased by the Forestry Commission in 1948 and are now a community woodland. They are managed by the commission to produce wood for paper pulp and timber.Local Groups have been set up in the last year to fight the councils plans for a giant new town which would destroy the interwoodland countryside and significantly damage the Ancient Woodland around Stoke Park, including Upper Barn and crowdhill Copses. Bishopstoke and Fair Oak Local Green Space and action against Destructive Development being two of them.
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