Bellever
Bellever
Hamlet in Devon, England
Bellever is a hamlet in Dartmoor, Devon, England. It is located on the river East Dart about 2 kilometres (1 mi) south of Postbridge.
The first mention of a settlement at this location is in a Duchy of Cornwall record from 1355 which gives the name of a farm here as Welford, a contraction of wielle (spring) and ford.[1] However, in his High Dartmoor (1983), Eric Hemery proposed that the name comes from bal (mine) and ford, meaning the mine by the ford.[2]
Until the period after World War II the hamlet consisted of Bellever Farm (owned by the Duchy of Cornwall) and its outbuildings, with a small number of cottages for the farm workers. The farm gained a reputation for the introduction of Galloway and Aberdeen Angus cattle onto Dartmoor.[3] However, in 1931 the Forestry Commission, now Forestry England bought the farm and began a large planting scheme here; several houses were built in the 1950s to house the forestry workers.[4] The coniferous plantation known as Bellever Forest[4] surrounds the hamlet on its north, west and south sides.
In 1934 some of the barns of Bellever Farm were let to Youth Hostels Association (England & Wales) and now form the oldest, still functioning youth hostel in Devon.[5]
As of 2019 the hamlet is served by a daily bus service that runs between Yelverton, Princetown, Postbridge and Tavistock.[6] During the summer Forestry England run a small visitor centre by the East Dart river.[7]
Bellever Tor lies 1.5 kilometres (1 mi) to the southwest.
