Bishopstone is a village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of Seaford, in the

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

district, in the county of

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

, England. Bishopstone Village has a population of about 200 people, including the nearby hamlet of Norton. It is located on a no-through country lane west of the town of Seaford, in the

South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national parks of England and Wales, national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in t ...

History

Bishopstone was an episcopal manor, hence its name meaning "dwelling place of the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

". The

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, dedicated to

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...

, is thought to date from the 8th century, and may well be the oldest in the county. Bishopstone church has an ancient

canonical sundial A tide dial, also known as a mass dial or a scratch dial, is a sundial marked with the canonical hours rather than or in addition to the standard hours of daylight. Such sundials were particularly common between the 7th and 14th centuries in Europ ...

above its porch. The sundial is inscribed with the name Eadric, probably

Eadric of Kent Eadric (died August 686/ 687?) was a King of Kent (685–686). He was the son of Ecgberht I. Historical context In the 7th century the Kingdom of Kent had been politically stable for some time. According to Bede: Eorcenberht was succeeded by ...

, the King of Kent in 685/6.Wall, J. Charles (1912), ''Porches & Fonts.'' Pub. Wells, Gardner, Darton & Co., Ltd., London. P. 67. The church was rebuilt in 1200. The village was noted 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 as comprising 52 households, a significant settlement at the time. Ploughing land, pasture and had a value of £25; the tenant-in-chief was the Bishop of Chichester. Bishopstone village hall is part of the village life and has local events, it is also the venue for the local

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

club and is located behind the church. In 1931 the parish had a population of 409. On 1 April 1934, the parish was abolished and merged with East Blatchington, Newhaven and South Heighton.

Notable residents

In the 7th century the village is believed to have been the home of a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

, Leofwynn; she was

venerated Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...

locally in the Dark Ages and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

times. * James Hurdis (1963-1801), the poet, was born in the village and there is a memorial to him in the church. * Nell St. John Montague (1875-1944), the writer and " clairvoyante", is buried in Bishopstone, and her name is included on a memorial for the war dead (she died in London during a bombing in World War II). * Kenneth V. Jones (1924-2020), composer, settled in Bishopstone in the early 1970s and lived there until he died.Kenneth V. Jones obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 14 February, 2021
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Transportation

Bishopstone is served by Bishopstone railway station, which replaced the original station, Bishopstone Beach Halt in 1942. Bishopstone station was built in 1938 in a distinctive red-brick Charles Holden Art-Deco style, a house style common to the Southern Railway at the time. An integrated pill box was added later above the roof early in World War 2 because of the defensive coverage it gave over the nearby bay and beaches. From Bishopstone railway station there is a regular train service eastwards to Seaford, and north-westwards to Lewes, Brighton, Gatwick, and London.

References

External links

St Andrews church
{{authority control Villages in East Sussex Former civil parishes in East Sussex Seaford, East Sussex

History

Notable residents

Transportation

See also

References

External links