A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
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.
(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))
| Linked entities: | |
|---|---|
| Feature Description: | "a small ancient town, formerly a borough" (ADL Feature Type: "cities") |
| Administrative units: | Bere Ferrers AP/CP Devon AncC |
| Place: | Bere Alston |
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