Sheepstor, Devon
Historical Description
Sheepstor or Shipstor, a parish in Devonshire, 2½ miles from Dousland station on the G.W.R., 7 SE of Tavistock, and 12 NE of Plymouth. Post town, Horrabridge; money order and telegraph office, Yelvertoa. Acreage, 3424; population, 100. The surface comprises some of the most picturesque and romantic portions of the W side of Dartmoor, and includes Sheepstor Rock-a precipitous, fissured, soaring eminence, figuring conspicuously in the moor's landscape, and fabled to be the haunt of the Devonshire fairies, the pixies. The head weir of the Plymouth leat is on the borders of this parish, and in 1895 an enormous reservoir was formed within its boundaries with the view of securing an unfailing supply of water to that town. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter; net value, £100 with residence. The church is an ancient building of granite in the Perpendicular style, and contains some old monuments and memorials. Burrator House is a seat of the Right Hon. Sir Massey Lopes, Bart.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Devon | |
| Hundred | Roborough | |
| Poor Law union | Tavistock |
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 Sheepstor
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Sheepstor from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Sheepstor)
Maps
Online maps of Sheepstor 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:
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.