BISHOPSTON, a parish in the hundred of DOWNTON,
though locally in the hundred of Chalk, county
of WILTS, Similes (S.byW.) from Wilton, containing
663 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, in the
archdeaconry and diocese of Salisbury, rated in the
king's books at £12. 1.-8.; there is also a sinecure
rectory, rated at £19. 14. 2.; both are in the patronage
of the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery. The church,
dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is a handsome cruciform
edifice, in the decorated style of English architecture;
the chancel contains three seats in canopied
niches, and has a finely ornamented roof.