Bishopstone, Salisbury
| Bishopstone | |
|---|---|
 Former Post Office, Croucheston |
|
 Bishopstone
|
|
| Bishopstone shown within Wiltshire | |
| Population | 684 (in 2011) |
| OS grid reference | SU069257 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Salisbury |
| Postcode district | SP5 |
| Dialling code | 01722 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Village |
Bishopstone is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It lies in the Ebble valley, about 5.5 miles (9 km) south-west of Salisbury. The parish is on the county boundary with Hampshire and includes the small village of Croucheston and the hamlet of The Pitts.
The area has evidence of prehistoric settlement, such as a bowl barrow near Croucheston Down Farm.Grim's Ditch, a prehistoric earthwork, forms the southern boundary of the parish. A Roman road from Old Sarum to Dorchester crosses the parish.
It is not known when Bishopstone was first inhabited or what it was called but fragmentary records from Saxon times indicate that the whole Chalke Valley area was thriving. It is surmised that the village was originally known as Eblesborne, but by 1166 it had been acquired by the See of Winchester and was known as Bissopeston. It is also surmised that Eblesborne meant that the land and the burna (river) was once owned by a man called Ebbel.
The village of Eblesborne is mentioned by historian Michael Wood in his book Domesday, a Search for the Roots of England because in 902 the Bishop of Winchester leased an estate in 'Ebbesbourne' to Beornwulf at a rent of 45/- a year. In the book Ebbesbourne Wake through the Ages Peter Meers states that this reference was about Bishopstone, not Ebbesborne Wake.
The Domesday Book in 1086 divided the Chalke Valley into eight manors, Chelke (Chalke - Broad Chalke and Bowerchalke), Eblesborne (Ebbesbourne Wake), Fifehide (Fifield Bavant), Cumbe (Coombe Bissett), Humitone (Homington), Odestoche (), Stradford (Stratford Tony and Bishopstone) and Trow (circa Alvediston and Tollard Royal).
...
Wikipedia