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Alston Cross
Alston Cross maps
Historic maps of Alston Cross and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Alston Cross maps
Alston Cross photos
We have no photos of Alston Cross, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Ashburton| South Knighton| River Dart| Ilsington| Buckfast| Haytor Vale| Haytor| Buckfastleigh| Torbryan| Holne| Staverton| Ponsworthy| Coombe| Ipplepen| Bovey Tracey| Widecombe-In-The-Moor| Abbotskerswell| Newton Abbot| Dean Prior| Littlehempston| Chudleigh Knighton| Dartington| Manaton| Kingsteignton| Lustleigh| Marldon| Chudleigh
Alston Cross area books
Displaying 1 of 26 books about Alston Cross and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Alston Cross
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Devon memories
Sparnham House, 36 West Street
I was living in Sparnham House in 1960, but don't recall the umber mine you mention, though my father (Brian Baker) did say there had been one, once. Outside Sparnham there used to be a tap which was supplied by a natural spring and during the long winter of 1963 it was, at times, the only piece of plumbing that wasn't frozen. There was a tunnel under the garden which I was never allowed to explore; I always assumed it was something to do with this spring, but perhaps it was the umber mine? My father died when I was nine, and we moved away from Ashburton shortly afterwards, so that tunnel has always been a tantalising mystery to me.
The house had been a coaching inn many years before. When my father bought it there were evidently huge numbers of old bottles in the back garden. He levelled the heap and planted a lawn on top, so there's probably an interesting experience awaiting anyone who cares to dig a... Read more
Sparnham House
Whether or not Sparnham House was an old coaching inn (I doubt it) or not, it is noteworthy of being the long-time residence of John Hannibal (or sometimes Henry) Foaden and his wife Elizabeth nee Husson. They were married in the summer of 1867 and moved to Sparnham House shortly after. They had at least six children; two sons and four daughters. John lived in the house till after the First World War and died in 1924 at the age of 87. John was a builder and will be remembered as the constructor of the first grandstand at Buckfastleigh (Dean Court Farm) racecourse (1883).
May Fayre on Denbury Village Green 5th May 2008
Denbury May Fayre started with a procession in fancy dress from the local school children led by the May Queen and May King. All the entertainments took place on the village green and in front of the Union Inn. There were plant stalls, traditional village games, a Romany caravan, teas and a display of clog morris dancing by the Heather and Gorse Clog Dancers from Combeinteignhead.
Elsewhere on the Village Green there was a collection of vintage cars to admire. This was a really enjoyable day out and although I was busy playing my accordian for the morris dancers, I still found time to look round the other entertainments. I thought the maypole dancing by the older village school children was excellent. Who knows – maybe one day they will become morris dancers!
Morris Dancing at The Union Inn, Denbury
It was a stormy July evening with heavy showers bucketing down so the Union Inn on the village green at Denbury was absolutely bursting with people crowded around the bars. We should all have been outside the pub enjoying a display of Cotswold Morris and North-West Clog Dancing by two local Morris sides. More than a dozen musicians and dancers from "Harberton Navy" and "Heather & Gorse Clog Dancers" had arrived to spend a hoped for balmy summer's evening at this lovely pub! The crowd also included the local pub quiz teams so it was a packed pub!
Every now and again there was a brief lull in the fierce rain outside so the musicians and dancers would dash outside for a couple of minutes dancing.
This was an evening to remember!
Morris Dancing at The Star Inn
It was a lovely warm August evening and a small gathering of 'bikers' stood around in the car park of the Star Inn - a typical Devon pub in Old Liverton. They were enjoying looking at each others bikes but soon got a surprise when the Morris dancers arrived!
We met for the dance performance at 8pm. I brought my piano accordian along and played in the band for Heather and Gorse Clog Dancers and also enjoyed a pint of lovely Bombardier Ale from Wells Brewery.
There were probably no more than twenty folks gathered around the front of the Inn but all seemed to be enjoying the show. It was lovely dancing and playing in the twilight as the pub's illuminations switched on. I wished I had a camera but these words will remind me!
Black Bess Border Morris Entertain With Heather & Gorse Clog Dancers
You really couldn't make this up! The Star Inn is an attractive old Devon village pub and on any normal July mid-week evening you might have expected a handful of local beer and cider drinkers here in Liverton. But, on this particular occasion when my wife drove us into the pub car park we found it was full.
All along one side of the car park were old sports cars. On the other side a succession of motorbikes roared up and parked. And immediately in front of the entrance to this pretty pub were half a dozen attractive women wearing Dick Turpin highwaymen masks!
We had arrived as part of the Heather & Gorse Clog Dancers side and expected to play our usual accordian tunes for the dancers and perhaps half a dozen bystanders. Instead, the lovely summer's evening passed in a seamless hour and a half of entertaining music and dancing from two good morris dancing sides and appreciated by the members of the Triumph... Read more
An Interlude in Buckfastleigh And Buckfast
I remember being a pupil at the little Buckfast school, now St Mary's primary. I presume it was the same then but can't remember. It was in the early to mid 1950s and I have a photo of what I think is a school play there. I think that I am in the photo but cannot be sure. Anyone remember milk tablets? We lived in Buckfastleigh at the time, my mother, my sister and me. It was a very dark and pokey little terrace cottage at the western end of the town. I can remember we had a copper basin in the backyard that mother used to do the washing in. As far as I recall she filled it with water and lit a fire underneath it. For a while too, we lived in a caravan in the small park by the bridge near the railway station. Not sure what's there now.
