Belstone, Devon

Historical Description

Belstone, a parish in Devonshire, on the headstreams of the Taw and Okement rivers, 2 miles SE of Okehampton railway station on the L. & S.W.R., and 20 W by N of Exeter. It includes the hamlet of Prestacott. It has a post office under Okehampton, which is the telegraph office, money order office, Sticklepath. Acreage, 1790; population, 181. 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 1½ mile above the ford, has on its W side a Druidic circle of 17 stones, the highest not more than 2¼ feet above ground. Some of the inhabitants are employed in woollen manufacture. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Exeter; gross value, £185 with residence. 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, and again in 1881. There is a Congregational chapel.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Church Records

Findmypast, in association with the South West Heritage Trust, Parochial Church Council, and Devon Family History Society have the Baptisms, Banns, Marriages, and Burials online for Belstone

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Belstone from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Belstone (St. Mary))
• History, Gazetteer and Directory of Devon, by William White, 2nd edition, 1878-9

Maps

Online maps of Belstone are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers covering Devon online:

• Western Times
• Exeter and Plymouth Gazette
• Western Morning News
• North Devon Journal
• Exeter Flying Post

Villages, Hamlets, &c

Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of the County of Devon in the year 1564, with additions from the earlier visitation of 1531, is online.

The Visitations of the County of Devon, comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564, & 1620, with additions by Lieutant-Colonel J.L. Vivian, published for the author by Henry S. Eland, Exeter 1895 is online.