Beer

Beer is a small historic village and harbour, situated on Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, close to Seaton in Devon.

In 1086. the village was mentioned in the Domesday Book, as part of the Colyton hundred with 28 households. The name Beer is from the Old English word bearu, meaning "grove" and referring to the original forestation that surrounded the village.

The village is famous for its lace production, which is popular with the royal family, as well as Beer stone. The stone has been prized since Roman times, as it has a very fine grain and carves easily. It hardens in contact with oxygen in the air. Beer stone was used in the construction of 24 cathedrals and was also used in the building of Christchurch Cathedral, in St.Louis. Missouri, USA.

Although historically the main income was from fishing, with boats being winched up the beach using a manual capstan, as there is no natural harbour. These days, small electrically driven winches using steel cables with some tractors are located on the beach to haul boats in and fresh fish is sold nearby. Tourism has now become the main source of income for the village.

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 of limestone on the southwest coast.

A brook winds its way in an open conduit alongside the main road down to the sea flowing beside WWII fortifications in the form of a loop holed wall, similar to a pillbox.