The elevated position meant that it was the location of a fire beacon to warn of danger, and the tor takes its name from this role.

[2] Buckland Beacon is famous for a number of the rocks around its base having been faced and cut with the wording of the Ten Commandments.

These were commissioned in 1927 by the land owner William Whitley, then resident at Wellstor, and Lord of Buckland Manor, and completed in 1928.

Mr Whitley ordered the Ten Commandments to be carved after he learned of plans to revise the Book of Common Prayer.

It is also notable that the inscription states 1282ft, which is nearly 50 feet (15 m) shorter than the actual height of the beacon recorded by Ordnance Survey.