Bishopstoke is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

district of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England. It is recorded as "Stoke" as early as 948AD when King

Eadred Eadred (also Edred, – 23 November 955) was King of the English from 26 May 946 until his death in 955. He was the younger son of Edward the Elder and his third wife Eadgifu of Kent, Eadgifu, and a grandson of Alfred the Great. His elder b ...

granted land there to a

thegn In later Anglo-Saxon England, a thegn or thane (Latin minister) was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in lay society, below the king and ealdormen. He had to be a substantial landowner. Thanage refers to the tenure by which lands were ...

called Aelfric. Stoke later came into the possession of the

Bishops of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

, giving rise to the modern name. The village is about a mile east of

town centre, and is on the eastern bank of the River Itchen. It adjoins

Fair Oak Fair Oak is a large village to the east of the town of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. Together with the village of Horton Heath, Hampshire, Horton Heath, which lies to the south, it is part of the civil parish of Fair Oak and Horton Heath. H ...

on the east. The parish of Bishopstoke was annexed to Eastleigh in 1899. It was later re-established as a parish in 1995. The village forms part of the

South Hampshire South Hampshire is a term used mainly to refer to the conurbation formed by the city of Portsmouth, city of Southampton and the non-metropolitan boroughs of Gosport, Fareham, Havant and Eastleigh in southern Hampshire, South East England. The ...

urban area.

History

The first mention of Bishopstoke comes in 948AD as Stoke, when land there was given by King Eadred (grandson of

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

) to Aelfric, a thegn. The village is recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086. The

Itchen Navigation The Itchen Navigation is a disused canal system in Hampshire, England, that provided an important trading route from Winchester to the sea at Southampton for about 150 years. Improvements to the River Itchen were authorised by act of parliam ...

canal between

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

was completed in 1710 and in use until 1869. Much of it runs through Bishopstoke, including a

sluice A sluice ( ) is a water channel containing a sluice gate, a type of lock to manage the water flow and water level. There are various types of sluice gates, including flap sluice gates and fan gates. Different depths are calculated when design s ...

in use until the closure. When the

London and Southampton Railway London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

was built in 1839 it passed to the west of the village. Bishopstoke railway station was built to serve the area. The town of Eastleigh grew around the station, which changed its name to "Eastleigh and Bishopstoke" in 1889 and then just "Eastleigh" in 1923, reflecting the growing importance of Eastleigh relative to its older neighbour of Bishopstoke.

Governance

There are three tiers of local government covering Bishopstoke, at parish, district and county level: Bishopstoke Parish Council,

Eastleigh Borough Council Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, ...

and

Hampshire County Council Hampshire County Council (HCC) is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hampshire in England. The council was created in 1889. The county council provides county-level services to eleven of the thirteen districts geo ...

. The parish council has an office at the Memorial Hall on Riverside.

Administrative history

Bishopstoke was an

ancient parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

. When elected parish councils were established in 1894 it was decided to split the parish in two, with the eastern part becoming a parish called

. The reduced Bishopstoke parish was divided further in 1899; the more rural northern part became a parish called Stoke Park, and the remaining parish of Bishopstoke was added to the

urban district An urban district is a division generally managed by a local government. It may also refer to a city district, district, urban area or quarter Specific urban districts in some countries include: * Urban districts of Denmark * Districts of Germa ...

of Eastleigh, which was renamed "Eastleigh and Bishopstoke" at the same time. After 1899 Bishopstoke was therefore an

urban parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

with no parish council, being directly administered by the urban district council. The parish was abolished in 1932 to become part of the parish of Eastleigh, at which point the urban district was also renamed back to just Eastleigh. The Stoke Park parish was abolished at the same time, being split between Eastleigh and Fair Oak. Bishopstoke was re-established as a civil parish in 1995.

Stoke Park Woods

Bordering the village to the North and comprising about 207 ha (512 acres), the Stoke Park area contains 61 per cent woodland and 39 per cent arable. Its many plant species include rare

quaking grass ''Briza'' is a genus of annual and perennial plants in the grass family, native to northern temperate regions of Eurasia, North Africa, and certain islands in the Atlantic. The group is generally referred to as the quaking grasses because the ...

. Originally these woods were owned by the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

. King

John of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

hunted them in 1205. In 1540 they were licensed by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

as a fenced deer hunt. The woods were bought by the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

in 1948 and are now community woodland managed by Forestry England to produce wood for

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

pulp and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

. Local groups have been set up to fight council plans for a new housing development, that they argue, would destroy the inter-woodland countryside and significantly damage the ancient woodland around Stoke Park, including Upper Barn, Crowdhill copses, Bishopstoke and Fair Oak Local Green Space. Popular sites include the Eastleigh Falls, a semi-natural rapidly flowing chalk stream that supports a variety of locally rare plant and animal species. The site has been recognised as important habitat for the

northern crested newt The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to ...

(Triturus cristatus). There are ongoing efforts by local activists to classify the area as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

to ensure its protection from the proposed development projects.

Today

Bishopstoke contains one infant school, Stoke Park Infant School, and one Junior School, Stoke Park Junior School. which feeds the secondary school in Fair Oak, Wyvern College. The village has a Girl Guide group off West Drive, including Rainbow, Brownie and Guide units. It is also home to both the 13th Eastleigh Scouts in St Paul's Church and 12th Eastleigh Scouts on West Drive. Eastleigh's museum in the High Street, which is open from Tuesday to Saturday, holds several files containing information about Bishopstoke's historic past and associated personalities, such as

John Bale John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed and ...

Samuel Sewall Samuel Sewall (; March 28, 1652 – January 1, 1730) was a judge, businessman, and printer in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, best known for his involvement in the Salem witch trials, for which he later apologized, and his essay ''The Selling ...

, and Dean Garnier. Bishopstoke still retains many buildings dating from the 18th century, although the village is expanding and now has a number of newer built residential and commercial premises. It has effectively become divided into '' Old Bishopstoke'' and ''New Bishopstoke'', heading roughly west to east, reflecting the recent housing requirements within the area. There are four churches in the village: St Mary's and St Paul's, both

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, Bishopstoke Evangelical Church in Stoke Park Road, and Bishopstoke

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Church in Sedgwick Road.

Farm land

has been purchasing farmland in order to protect against

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and increase diversity.

Notable people

Among those born or resident in Bishopstoke have been: *

Richard Dummer Richard Dummer (158914 December 1679) was an early settler in New England. He made his fortune as a trader, operating in the port of Southampton, England. He was a Puritan, which at times was contrary to the Established Church and the monarch. He ...

(1589–1679), early settler in New England described as "one of the fathers of Massachusetts" *

Edith Escombe Edith Escombe (1866–1950) was an English writer of stories and essays born in Manchester. Several of her works concern marriage and the demands it makes on women. Two of her novellas were republished in 2010 and 2011 by the British Library. F ...

(1866–1950), fiction writer and essayist * William Gilbert (1804–1890), novelist and Royal Navy surgeon, father of dramatist

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

Henry Hamilton Bailey Henry Hamilton Bailey (1 October 1894 – 25 March 1961) was a British surgeon. Bailey became one of the most influential authors of surgical textbooks in the 20th century; when publishing, and perhaps for much of his working life, he dropped h ...

(1894–1961), influential author of surgical textbooks. *

(1652–1730),

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

judge, best known for involvement in the

Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Hampshire Borough of Eastleigh