Bishopstone is a village and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the Swindon

Swindon (borough)

The Borough of Swindon is a local government authority in South West England. It is centred on the town of Swindon and forms part of the ceremonial county of Wiltshire...

 unitary authority

Unitary authority

A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...

 of Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, about six miles east of Swindon

Swindon

Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...

, and just west of the county border with Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

.
Since 1934 the civil parish has included the village of Hinton Parva

Hinton Parva, Wiltshire

Hinton Parva, also known as Little Hinton, is a village in the unitary authority of Swindon in Wiltshire, England. Hinton Parva was a separate parish until 1934, and is now in the civil parish of Bishopstone....

. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 648.

Bishopstone is located between Wanborough

Wanborough, Wiltshire

Wanborough is a village and civil parish in the borough of Swindon, Wiltshire. The village is about southeast of Swindon town centre. The parish includes the hamlet of Foxhill, southeast of the village.-History:...

 and Ashbury

Ashbury, Oxfordshire

Ashbury is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The village is about east of Swindon in neighbouring Wiltshire...

 on the historic Icknield Way

Icknield Way

The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern England. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.-Background:...

. It is a picturesque village with two pubs and a large number of thatched cottages, centred around a mill-pond.

The village is often used as a base for walkers with excellent access to the Ridgeway National Trail.

On the downs above Bishopstone there are impressive ancient field systems known as lynchet

Lynchet

A lynchet is a bank of earth that builds up on the downslope of a field ploughed over a long period of time. The disturbed soil slips down the hillside to create a positive lynchet while the area reduced in level becomes a negative lynchet. They are also referred to as strip lynchets.They are a...

s and many other historic earth-workings.

External links

• monthly village newsletter
• Bishopstone Parish Council Website
• v8villager blog A blog from a resident of Bishopstone - some Bishopstone content