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The most striking feature of the South Transept is this richly decorated memorial which contains the tombs of the Reverend George Augustus Montgomery and of his wife Cecilia. George Augustus Montgomery was Rector of Bishopstone from 1821 until his untimely death in 1842. The memorial was designed by the noted 19th century architect Augustus Pugin, who designed the interior of the Houses of Parliament in London. This was his first large church monument.

The Reverend Montgomery was a great benefactor both of the church and the wider parish. His father was the illegitimate son of the 10th Earl of Pembroke. He was educated at Oriel College Oxford and ordained in 1818. His uncle, the 11th Earl, gave him the living in 1821. As noted elsewhere in the church, he installed much of the carved wooden panelling – most of which was collected from redundant churches during a visit he and his wife made to Seville in Spain in 1838. He was responsible for the building of the first school in the village and for establishing a charitable fund to support the poor of the parish which continues to the present day. The Benefaction Board setting out the terms of the fund is above the arch behind you.

George Augustus Montgomery had an interest in church developments in Wiltshire and it was whilst visiting the construction of St Nicholas, East Grafton that he was killed when an arch collapsed. There is an inscription describing this event on the tomb.

The church Guide Book contains more information about the Reverend George Montgomery and his wife Cecilia. She was a noted artist whose drawings of Spain and Portugal are in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.