The Rose Salterne black plaque

This black commemorative plaque records: The Rose Salterne. These licensed premises are named after the heroine of Westward Ho!. This famous historical novel is set in Bideford, where it was written by Charles Kingsley, in 1854. In the early 19th century the Rev. Alford, Master of Bideford Grammar School, lived in a house more-or-less on this site. It was replaced by 'a set of Public Rooms', in 1871 which later became the Palace Cinema. The cinema closed in 1962 and was, itself, replaced by Ford & Lock's supermarket, later a carper and furnishing store and now a Wetherspoons feehouse. Recorded plaque organisation: J. D. Wetherspoon.

The Rose Salterne is a character from Charles Kingsley's historical novel "Westward Ho!", which has made her a notable figure in British literary history; the licensed premises are named after this fictional heroine, linking local identity to Victorian literature.