A beautiful church is always seen to advantage in a beautiful  setting. Bishopstone Churchyard, irregular in shape and falling away steeply  to the north-east, makes a wonderful setting for the church. It is dedicated  in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary and its Patronal Festival is kept on the feast of her Purification, the ancient Candlemas Day, February 2nd. Quite  distinct from this is its Dedication Feast, held on August 26th. or the Sunday after at. On this day thanks are given for the church, a fair formerly visited the village and relatives from afar came back to visit their families. Bishopstone was an episcopal manor from pre-conquest days and continued so until 1869 when the Ecclesiastical Commissioners became owners of the village upon the death of the then Bishop of Salisbury. The Story of the Church There was probably  a small church here in Saxon times but nothing remains of it. Of the Norman church only the door in the north chancel wall shows us the rich carving of the late twelfth century. Bishop Forrest Browne, of Bristol, earlier in this century thought this door as fine as any work at Malmesbury Abbey (the head of the arch is the Malmesbury Beast). This door was re-set during a later  rebuilding. The main fabric of the church is in the perpendicular style of the fifteenth century. Large window filled with glass give plenty of light inside and the parapet of the south aisle acts as a foil to the massive tower  when seen from the churchyard.
For over 300 years after the Reformation there were no structural changes  in the Church. Yearly "Churchwardens' Repairs" were carried out. Constant lime-washing, re-glazing, re-seating and re-paving can be traced in the annual presentments and in the old account books. As with so many churches, thorough restoration had become necessary by the middle of the nineteenth century and it was carried out in 1881-1883.
The first resident Vicar for 60 years, the Rev. Allan Ifill Pile, arrived  in 1880 and under his enthusiastic leadership the church was restored and  transformed. The roof of the nave was raised and clerestory windows added. This must have been the intention of the medieval builders, for the top of the great tower arch was, until then, higher than the nave roof. The gallery in the tower was removed and the whole church re-seated in pitch pine to replace the old pews which were irregularly arranged. So a clean and neat interior was the result. The present appearance of the church dates from 1891. On Good  Friday night in that year a fire broke out in the tower. The fine peal of bells was melted, all but one bay of the nave roof was destroyed and all the  furnishings were burnt. It is remarkable that by Christmas of 1891 the church was again restored and fine oak pews replaced those of pitch pine. The carved oak altar commemorates Queen Victoria and the reredos her son, Edward VII. The central panel of the altar shows Christ in Glory surrounded the Four Beasts of the Apocalypse. The paintings in the reredos are of scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary. Finally in 1910 the organ was installed in a gallery over  the small chancel arch. The Rev. Herbert Ault, Vicar from 1886 to 1916, would find the main features of the church as he left them.