Bellever
Hamlet in Devon, England
title: "Bellever" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["villages-in-devon", "dartmoor"] description: "Hamlet in Devon, England" topic_path: "general/villages-in-devon" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellever" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Hamlet in Devon, England ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| country | England |
| static_image | [[File:BelleverYHA.jpg |
| static_image_caption | Bellever Youth Hostel |
| coordinates | |
| official_name | Bellever |
| shire_district | West Devon |
| shire_county | Devon |
| region | South West England |
| constituency_westminster | Torridge and West Devon |
| post_town | YELVERTON |
| postcode_district | PL20 |
| postcode_area | PL |
| dial_code | 01822 |
| os_grid_reference | SX6577 |
| :: |
|country = England |static_image= [[File:BelleverYHA.jpg|240px|Bellever Youth Hostel]] |static_image_caption= Bellever Youth Hostel |coordinates = |official_name= Bellever |population = |shire_district= West Devon |shire_county= Devon |region= South West England |constituency_westminster= Torridge and West Devon |post_town= YELVERTON |postcode_district = PL20 |postcode_area= PL |dial_code= 01822 |os_grid_reference= SX6577 Bellever is a hamlet in Dartmoor, Devon, England. It is located on the river East Dart about 2 km 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.{{cite book |last1= Gover|first1= John |last2= Mawer|first2= Allan |last3= Stenton|first3= Sir Frank Merry |title= Place-names of Devon|series= English Place-Name Society |publisher= Cambridge University Press|year=1932|volume =8 |page=192 |last= Hemery|first= Eric |title=High Dartmoor: Land and People |date=March 1983 |publisher=Robert Hale|isbn=0-7091-8859-5 |page=486}}
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/RiverEastDart.jpg" caption="The River East Dart at Bellever" alt="The River East Dart at Bellever looking upstream. Forestry Commission land on the left, open moorland on the right"] ::
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.{{cite web |url=http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/bell_bull.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017003335/http://legendarydartmoor.co.uk/bell_bull.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-10-17 |title=The Bellever Bulls |accessdate=2009-04-13 |url=http://www.virtuallydartmoor.org.uk/postbridge/transcripts/Bellever_Forest/audio01_pete_intro.pdf |title=Introduction to Bellever Forest |accessdate=2009-04-13
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.{{cite book |last1=Maurice-Jones|first1=Helen |last2=Porter|first2=Lindsey |title=The Spirit of YHA |year=2008|publisher=YHA |page=149}}
As of 2019 the hamlet is served by a daily bus service that runs between Yelverton, Princetown, Postbridge and Tavistock. During the summer Forestry England run a small visitor centre by the East Dart river.
Bellever Tor lies 1.5 km to the southwest.
References
References
- "98 - Tavistock - Yelverton". Bus Times.
- "Bellever and Postbridge Trails". Moor than meets the eye.
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