Fonthill Bishop is a small village 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England, to the north of the Nadder valley and south of

Warminster Warminster () is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of about 17,000 in 2011. The 11th-c ...

. The Fonthill Park estate extends into the south of the parish. Landscaping which included the creation of

Fonthill Lake Fonthill Lake () is a lake in southwest Wiltshire, England. It lies just to the south of the village of Fonthill Bishop, east of the village of Fonthill Gifford, and northeast of Fonthill Abbey. The lake is long and approximately wide at its m ...

was begun in 1740 by William Beckford (later Lord Mayor of London) and continued from c. 1793 by his son

William Thomas Beckford William Thomas Beckford (29 September 1760 – 2 May 1844) was an English novelist, art collector, patron of decorative art, critic, travel writer, plantation owner and for some time politician. He was reputed at one stage to be England's riches ...

, who built

Fonthill Abbey Fonthill Abbey—also known as Beckford's Folly—was a large Gothic Revival country house built between 1796 and 1813 at Fonthill Gifford in Wiltshire, England, at the direction of William Thomas Beckford and architect James Wyatt. It was b ...

, now almost completely demolished. The estate now belongs to Alastair Morrison, 3rd Baron Margadale. Next to the lake (but outside the parish) is the

Fonthill Grottoes Fonthill Grottoes is a 0.69 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, in woodland adjacent to Fonthill Lake in Wiltshire, notified in 1994. Its SSSI designation is due to its roosting bats: the site is the sixth largest hibernaculum ...

Site of Special Scientific Interest. Part of the Great Ridge Wood lies in the north of the parish.

History

The village developed along a north–south street, bisected by the west–east road from West Knoyle and Hindon to Wilton and Salisbury (now the B3089). The shape of the village changed from the 19th century, with most buildings now on the northern half of the street and along the road. The parish population was 77 in 1377, peaked in the early 19th century with 228 recorded at the 1821 census, then steadily declined.

Parish church

Church of All Saints, Fonthill Bishop - geograph

The Church of England parish church of All Saints was mentioned in 1242, and has evidence of work in the 14th and 15th centuries. Thorough

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

in 1871 and 1879 was directed by T.H. Wyatt. The interior of the church has a 12th-century stone font and two 17th-century

box pew A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in ch ...

s with doors. The building was designated as Grade I listed in 1966. In 1966 the parish of Fonthill Bishop was united with the neighbouring parish of

Berwick St Leonard Berwick St Leonard is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southeast of Warminster and west of Salisbury. Geography A small stream rises near that village and flows intermittently, under wet conditions. Soon after le ...

. Today the parish is part of the Nadder Valley Team Ministry.

Notable buildings

Gateway near Fonthill Bishop (1) (geograph 2113602)

Southwest of the village, an archway with two flanking lodges spans the road to

Fonthill Gifford Fonthill Gifford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, to the north of the Nadder valley, west of Salisbury. History The name of the village and parish derives from the Giffard family, landowners, beginning with Berenger Giff ...

. This entrance to Fonthill Park was probably built c. 1756 to designs of

John Vardy John Vardy (February 1718 – 17 May 1765) was an English architect attached to the Royal Office of Works from 1736. He was a close follower of the neo-Palladian architect William Kent. John Vardy was born to a simple working family in Durham. Hi ...

; long decorative walls, with urn finials, were added on both sides of the road c. 1860. The whole was designated as Grade I listed in 1966. Structures associated with Fonthill Lake within the parish include a mid-18th century boathouse or water temple, Grade II* listed; and a bridge dated 1826 over part of the lake.

Governance

The first tier of local government is a

parish meeting A parish meeting, in England, is a meeting to which all the electors in a civil parish are entitled to attend. In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of a parish cou ...

. The parish is within the area of the

Wiltshire Council Wiltshire Council is a council for the unitary authority of Wiltshire (excluding the separate unitary authority of Swindon) in South West England, created in 2009. It is the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council (1889–2009) and the ...

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

, which is responsible for almost all significant local government functions.

Education

Fonthill Bishop now shares a village school, the Chilmark and Fonthill Bishop Church of England Aided Primary School, which is in the neighbouring parish of Chilmark. By the gift of S. Gattrell, a

charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...

known as Gattrell's School was established at Fonthill Bishop in 1787 which provided for sixteen poor children of the parish to be taught reading and writing, the catechism of the Church of England, and needlework, free of charge. By 1833, the school also had a few "pay-scholars", for whom a charge was made. An elementary school, built c. 1841, later had places for 78 children; attendance declined during the 20th century and this school closed in 1971.

Amenities

The

Monarch's Way The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester. It runs from Worcester via Bristol and Yeovil to Shoreham, West Su ...

long-distance footpath passes through the village. The King's Arms inn, trading in 1794, closed in the 1990s and is now a private house.

References

External links

A Visit to Fonthill
by

Rictor Norton Rictor Norton (born 1945) is an American writer on literary and cultural history, particularly queer history. He is based in London, England. Biography Norton was born in Friendship, New York, USA, on June 25, 1945. He gained a BA from Flo ...

{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire