In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Belstone like this:
BELSTONE, a parish in Okehampton district, Devon; on the headstreams of the Taw and Okement rivers, 2 miles SE of Okehampton r. station, and 20 W by N of Exeter. It includes the hamlet of Prestacott; and its Post Town is Okehampton. Acres, 1,500. Real property, £1,205. Pop., 181. Houses, 41. ...
The property is not much divided. The surface lies within Dartmoor, and partakes of its striking scenery. Belstone Cleave, on the course of the Okement river, shows wild massings of rock, with impetuous current of the stream. The glen of St. Michael of Hatstock has the influx of the Black Avon from the uplands of Yes Tor; and contains Chapel Ford, named from an extinct ancient chapel of St. Michael. Belstone Tor, about 1 ¼. mile above the ford, has on its W side a Druidic circle of 17 stones, the highest not more than 2½ feet above-ground. Some of the inhabitants are employed in woollen manufacture. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Exeter. Value, £154.- Patron, the Rev. H. G. Fothergill. The church is a small edifice of nave and chancel, with a very low tower; has Norman work and a fine old carved screen; is traditionally said to have been built by Baldwin de Brioniis; and was repaired in 1855. There is an Independent chapel.
Belstone through time
Belstone 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 Belstone itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Belstone in West Devon | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/5190
Date accessed: 18th April 2024
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