In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Bere Alston like this:
BEER-ALSTON, a small ancient town, formerly a borough, in Beer-Ferris parish, Devon. It stands on an eminence overlooking the rivers Tamar and Tavy, 5 miles NW of Bickleigh r. station, and 6 S by W of Tavistock. It has a post office under Tavistock, a chapel of ease, and chapels for dissenters; and it long had a weekly market. ...
It was given by William the Conqueror to a branch of the Alencon family, whence it took the name of Beer-Alencon, corrupted into Beer Alston; and it passed to successively the Ferrers, the Champernouns, the Blounts, the Maynards, and the Edgcumbes. It was a borough by prescription; and it sent two members to parliament from the time of Elizabeth till disfranchised by the act of 1832. Many of its inhabitants are employed in neighbouring lead and silver mines. Pop., about 1,600.
Bere Alston through time
Bere Alston is now part of West Devon district. Click here for graphs and data of how West Devon has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Bere Alston itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Bere Alston in West Devon | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/20669
Date accessed: 27th April 2024
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