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| Beer | |
|---|---|
 Beach at Beer, with Beer Head behind (April 2006) | |
  Beer Location withinDevon | |
| Area | 6.7 km2 (2.6 sq mi) [1] |
| Population | 1,317 (2011) |
| • Density | 197/km2 (510/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SY2289 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SEATON |
| Postcode district | EX12 |
| Dialling code | 01297 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 50°41′53″N3°05′35″W / 50.698°N 3.093°W /50.698; -3.093 | |
Beer is a seaside village andcivil parish in theEast Devon district ofDevon, England.[3] The village facesLyme Bay and is a little over 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the town ofSeaton. It is situated on theJurassic CoastWorld Heritage Site and its picturesque cliffs, includingBeer Head, form part of theSouth West Coast Path.[4][5]
At the2021 Census, the parish had a population of 1,283.[6]
Beer is mentioned in theDomesday Book of 1086, at which time it was located withinColytonhundred and had 28 households.[7] Its name is not derived from thedrink, but from theOld English wordbearu, meaning "grove" and referring to the originalforestation that surrounded the village.[8]
It is a coastal village that grew up around a smugglers' cove and caves which were once used to store contraband goods. These are now part of the attraction of the village.
Beer is home to a cave complex, theBeer Quarry Caves, resulting from the quarrying of Beer stone. This stone has been prized sinceRoman times, because of its workability for carving and for its gentle yellow colour on exposure to air. Beer stone was used in the construction of 24 cathedrals[9] around the UK, includingExeter Cathedral,Westminster Abbey andSt. Paul's Cathedral, and was also used in the building ofChrist Church Cathedral, Missouri.
Bovey House, anElizabethanmanor house, is a mile inland.
Historically, the main sources of income for the village includedfishing andlace production.[10]
Bacteria taken from cliffs at Beer on the south coast were launched to theInternational Space Station in 2008. The Beer microbes were placed on theEuropean Space Agency's (ESA) Technology Exposure Facility and were sent up still sitting on, and in, small chunks of cliff rock from theJurassic Coast. After 553-days scientists found that many were still alive. The survivors are now reproducing in a laboratory. This was part of an experiment to study the survival of microbes (which naturally live on the stone) in extreme conditions. A new species ofcyanobacteria was isolated at theOpen University that could be used in future space settlements on theMoon andMars to produce oxygen and break down rocks.[11]
Nowadays, the sources of income are mainlytourism and fishing. Beer is also the home of thePecorama (run by thePECOmodel railway manufacturer), which includes pleasure gardens and theBeer Heights Light Railway.
The shape of the coastline allowed local seafarers to operate in weather conditions when other towns could not, because it is protected from the prevailing westerly winds by Beer Head and the chalk cliffs which are the westernmost outcrop oflimestone on the southwest coast.[12] Boats are winched up the beach as there is no harbour, and fresh fish is sold nearby. Nowadays small electrically-driven winches using steel cables or tractors are located on the beach to haul boats in. Higher up is an old manualcapstan operated by up to 20 men, now disused.
Many of the buildings are faced withflint, a hard glassy stone found in the localchalk rock.[13]
A brook winds its way in an open conduit alongside the main road down to the sea.
Beer has a steep pebble beach.
Beer is just off the A3052 which linksExeter to the West andLyme Regis to the East.
Beer's nearest railway station isAxminster railway station, around 9 miles (14 km) away, which is on the Exeter to Waterloo line. There is a bus link from the rail station to Beer.
The bus services in the village are provided by locally based AVMT Buses who run services to many of the nearby towns and villages includingSeaton,Axminster,Branscombe,Sidmouth, andColyton.
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