KELLY’S DIRECTORY 1867:
FONTHILL BISHOP (or BISHOP’S FONTHILL) is a village and parish, in the Southern division of the county, Downton hundred, Tisbury union, Shaftesbury county court district, Salisbury diocese and archdeaconry, and Chalke rural deanery, 14 miles west from Salisbury, and 2 north-east from Hindon. The church of All Saints is a cruciform structure, about 600 years old; its tower, which is very low, rises from the centre of the building, and contains 1 bell; the church is in the last stage of decay, and is about to be restored. The register dates from 1754. The living is a rectory, yearly value £250, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Winchester, and held by the Rev. Robert William Sheldon, M.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge. There is a small charity, dispensed by the rector and churchwardens. The Free school, for the instruction of 16 poor children, is endowed with £10 annually, left by Abijah Clark; the cost of erecting the school-house was defrayed by voluntary contributions. The Bishop of Winchester is lord of the manor. The chief landowners are Frederick King, Esq., Frederick King, Jun., Esq., and Alfred Morrison, Esq. The soil is chalky loam; subsoil, chalk and stone. The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats and pasturage. The population in 1861 was 187; there are 1,735 acres of land.
Parish Clerk, William Newbury.
Letters through Tisbury. The nearest money order office is Hindon.
National School, Miss M. Wise, mistress.
Carrier to Salisbury – Richard Perrett, Tuesday and Thursday, returning same days.
Carrier to Shaftesbury – Richard Perrett, Saturday, returning same day.
Frederick King, jun., esq.
Rev. Robert William Sheldon, M.A., Rectory,.
COMMERCIAL
Thomas Coombs, farmer.
Samuel Gattrell, New Inn and farmer, Chicklade Bottom.
Daniel Hacker, shopkeeper.
Frederick Ingram, farmer.
Frederick King, jun., landowner and farmer.
Henry Paine, shopkeeper.
Richard Perrett, carrier and shopkeeper.
Joseph Robinson, King’s Arms.
Henry Wilkins, gun maker.