The name Buckfast means “stronghold” — a place where deer and buck were held. “Leigh” is the open pasture which would have belonged to Buckfast. There has always been a strong link between the two settlements, although Buckfast probably existed before Buckfastleigh. The name of Buckfastleigh is also of lexicographical interest since it contains half the letters of the alphabet. none of which are repeated.

Buckfastleigh’s origins are obscure. It may have begun as a key settlement of the Cistercian Abbey of nearby Buckfast and remained within monastic ownership until the Dissolution in 1539. As a market town, it seems not to have been successful. By 1801. the market had long ceased to exist and an attempt to revive it that year was short-lived. In 1018. a Benedictine Abbey was founded at nearby Buckfast and endorsed by King Canute in the same year. In 1148. the Abbey became a Cistercian monastery and remained so until the Dissolution in 1539. The present impressive Abbey Church was consecrated in 1932. The new church and monastery were built by monks of a community of French Benedictines. Throughout England. the Cistercians were associated with sheep husbandry and the wool trade.

Surrounded by water and nestling on the edge of Dartmoor made Buckfastleigh an ideal location for wool production. Early settlers were attracted by the moor, which provided good pasture for the sheep. The rivers Dart and Mardle and the Dean Burn, provided the abundance of water necessary for processing and dyeing the fleeces.

About five mills were in operation in the 16th century and two serge mills are recorded in 1850. together with 300 woolcombers. The peak of the Town’s industrial prosperity was reached in the late 19th century, when there were, at one time, five blanket, serge and combing mills, as well as corn and paper mills and a tannery. The same period saw a significant amount of building in the town, including modest worker’s cottages and public buildings.

Some of the original businesses still exist in the area and other mill buildings have been utilised for newer industries. The surviving section of the wooden millrace is still used to supply the tannery with water from the River Mardle and can be seen in Market Street.

‘..from blending to washing and weaving, spinning right through to the finished cloth. From the sheep’s back to the man’s back’ (Reminiscences from Townspeople)

The town plan is very interesting. Historically, there were four discrete elements: the Abbey, set within its own precincts on the west bank of the River Dart, the isolated 13th century parish church and Higher and Lower Town. Although there are similarities between Higher and Lower Town. they do show different characteristics. The core of Higher Town presents an almost unaltered 19th century townscape. In Lower Town. the buildings along Fore Street are mainly outwardly late 18th - early 19th century in date and character.

As recently as the mid 19th century, Higher and Lower Town were separate settlements. Both are centred on a single thoroughfare (Market Street and Fore Street). with buildings along the street frontages. and long, narrow burgage plots extending back from them. Subsequent development of the Town. particularly down these plots, has given rise to narrow alleyways at right angles to the main streets leading to courts behind. They show a variety of styles, shapes and sizes, and roof heights vary. all adding great visual interest to the area.