Wilfred Middlebrook, in The Changing Face Of Warminster, first written in 1960, updated in 1971, noted:
Bishopstrow Church is one of two in the whole of the Wylye Valley that can boast a steeple instead of a tower. The other is a modern church in the neighbouring village of Sutton Veny. Bishopstrow Church is an isolated little church, low-lying near the river, with pleasant footpaths that still meander through the fields back to the Salisbury road. The steeple has probably been added to an older, square, battlemented tower, dating from the 15th century.
The church was rebuilt in 1757, on a Norman foundation, but the original foundation dates from Saxon times. Prior to the rebuilding, this little church was one of the few English churches with an apse, a form of architecture more usually found on the Continent. The tower was left untouched during the rebuilding, and the church was restored in 1842 and again in 1879. In 1930 the octagonal ribbed spire of the steeple was wrecked by lightning, so that too had to be restored.
Hanging near the door inside the church is a list of rectors dating from 1300, starting with Gilbert de Mureslu, and a list of patrons from 1300 to 1917. The first Patron was the Prior Of Farleigh; in 1542 it was the King; and in 1915 it was Lt. Col. John Southey, of Eastleigh Court. Another framed document gives a brief history of church and parish; the gist of this interesting account is as follows:
“The Church of Bishopstrow stands where St. Aldhelm preached and baptized people in the stream. Tradition says that the body of St. Aldhelm rested here on the way to burial at Malmesbury, each resting place being marked by a cross.”