Torquay

Torquay's name originates in its being the quay of the ancient village of Torre. In turn, Torre takes its name from the tor, the extensively quarried remains of which can be seen by the town's Lymington Road thus giving this the original name of Torrequay, then Torkay, Torkey and Tor Quay before joining the words together to Torquay.[3]

The area comprising modern Torquay has been inhabited since Paleolithic times. Hand axes found in Kents Cavern have been dated as 40,000 years old,[4] and a maxilla fragment, known as Kents Cavern 4, may be the oldest example of a modern human in Europe, dating back to 37,000–40,000 years ago.[5][6]

Torquay, 1811

Roman soldiers are known to have visited Torquay during the period when Britain was a part of the Roman Empire, leaving offerings at a curious rock formation in Kents Cavern, known as "The Face". No evidence has been found of Roman settlement in the town.

The first major building in Torquay was Torre Abbey, a Premonstratensian monastery founded in 1196.[7][5] Torquay remained a minor settlement until the Napoleonic wars, when Torbay was used as a sheltered anchorage by the Channel Fleet, and relatives of officers often visited Torquay. The mild climate (for the UK) attracted many visitors who considered the town a convalescence retreat where they could recover from illness away from the cold and cloudy winters of more northerly or easterly locations. The population of Torquay grew rapidly from 838 in 1801, to 11,474 in 1851.

Torquay, 1842

The second phase in the expansion of Torquay began when Torre railway station was opened on 18 December 1848. The improved transport connections resulted in rapid growth at the expense of nearby towns not on Isambard Kingdom Brunel's railways. The more central Torquay railway station was opened on 2 August 1859 with views of the sea from the platforms. After the growth of the preceding decades, Torquay was granted borough status in 1872. Previously regarded as a convalescence retreat, Torquay began to encourage summer visitors, and 1902, saw the first advertising campaign to market Torquay to summer tourists.

Torquay Tramways operated electric street trams from 1907. They were initially powered by the unusual Dolter stud-contact electrification so as not to disfigure the town with overhead wires, but in 1911, was converted to more conventional overhead-line supply. The line was extended into Paignton in 1911 but the network was closed in 1934.[8]

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution's Torquay Lifeboat Station was at the Ladies Bathing Cove from 1876 until 1923. A second lifeboat was kept at the harbour from 1917 until 1928.[9] Torquay was regarded as a "Spa Town" after the Marine Spa was built on Beacon Hill near the harbour. Originally called the "Bath Saloons complex", it had an open air tide-filled swimming bath. The complex was opened in 1853 after Beacon Hill headland was dynamited to make space for it. Charles Dickens was said to have made readings there. In the 1900s, a ballroom and a new sea water-filled swimming pool were built. The Marine Spa provided various therapies such as seaweed baths, needle, douche showers, hot and cold water baths and electric shock treatment. Bands such as Ivy Benson and Ted Heath played at Marine Spa ballroom. Four stone arches that were part of the Marine Spa are still visible on the outside of the harbour wall.

During World War I, military hospitals were sited in Torquay – many survivors from the Battle of Gallipoli recuperated in the town – and it was used as a troop staging area. In September 1915, King George V and Queen Mary visited. After the war, the Great Western Railway launched an advertising campaign to attract tourists, and this helped the town grow to a major south coast resort.

The Strand, 1900

During World War II Torquay was regarded as safer than the towns of South East England, and played host to evacuees from the London area, the town did, however, suffer minor bomb damage during the war, mainly from planes dumping excess loads after participating in the Plymouth Blitz. The last air raid on Torquay took place on 29 May 1944, shortly before the D-Day landings in June and, in the months leading up to D-Day, thousands of US Army personnel arrived with the 3204th Quartermaster Service Company billeted in Chelston and Cockington. During Operation Overlord more than 23,000 men of the American 4th Infantry Division departed Torquay for Utah Beach. The loading ramps used by the American army are still visible in front of the Regina Hotel on Vaughan Parade, a plaque giving details.

The water sport events of the 1948 Summer Olympic Games were held in Torquay, and the Olympic flame brought from London to Torre Abbey Gardens.[10] Although it did not host any Olympic events for the 2012 Summer Olympics, with the sailing taking place in Weymouth, Torbay looked to host teams as a preparation camp and the flame passed through once more on its route around the UK.

Cliffs in Torquay

After World War II several private high-rise blocks of flats were constructed above the Rock Walk cliffs and harbour, giving the area a Monte Carlo feel. In 1971, after a tragedy, the Marine Spa was demolished to make way for the ill-fated Coral Island leisure complex. This was characterised by its concrete arches on its uppermost floor and sunbathing decks like those of a cruise liner. The site featured a hexagonal outdoor plunge pool surrounded by sunbathing terraces leading down to Beacon Cove beach. Inside the building were several lounges, a restaurant and a nightclub within the arches of the ancient swimming bath. All levels were served by a hydraulic passenger lift. Coral Island opened in 1977, and closed in 1988. The complex was demolished in 1997, 20 years after its construction. The site remained derelict until 2002 when the Living Coasts coastal zoo was built there.

Torquay also boasted rehabilitation facilities for the blind at America Lodge, which was owned by the RNIB for a number of decades. Like many RNIB properties, this was sold off in the 1990s and the building is subdivided into private apartments.

In the late 1980s, Fleet Street was rebuilt as the Fleet Walk shopping centre which has street-level shops and an upper-level shopping deck. The long, curved building which follows the street is magnolia-coloured and in mock Victorian style. In the late 1990s and early 2000s new pubs and night clubs opened around the harbour, leading to an increase in binge drinking,[11] however in recent years a better police presence and responsible drinks promotions have improved the situation.[12] Since World War II, the nature of tourism in the United Kingdom has changed significantly. Increasing wealth has meant that holidays abroad are now commonplace. Coastal towns are now more popular for short stays as part of a touring holiday. Recently, Torquay has seen an increase in foreign visitors and is a major destination for foreign exchange students who come to the town to learn English in summer schools.

Areas around Torquay have also been affected by either refurbishments or closure. For instance, the Rock Walk located on the town's seafront was refurbished through a £3 million funding project,[13] resulting in its reopening on 3 October 2010, as part of the Royal Terrace Gardens festival.[14] In 2013, the Torquay Pavilion was closed after a loss in funding and attempts to reopen it under new funding are ongoing.[15]

Torbay Constituency

Torquay is part and the Administrative HQ of Torbay, created in 1968 as a county borough with Torquay being the county town [16] before returning to a two-tier system of local government under Devon County Council in 1974, from the amalgamation of the Boroughs of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham. Historically part of the county of Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on 1 April 1998, making it responsible for its own affairs. For local elections, the district is divided into 11 wards, 7 of them in Torquay. The main council offices are at Torquay Town Hall, built c. 1911.[17]

Torbay Council is headed by Mayor Gordon Oliver (Conservative). Mayor Oliver is the second directly elected mayor, with the first being Mayor Nick Bye, who served from November 2005 till May 2011.

Torquay (along with part of Paignton) is in the Torbay parliamentary constituency, created in 1974; previous to that, it was in its own eponymous constituency. The constituency elects one Member of Parliament, since 2015 Kevin Foster of the Conservatives. Torquay, the rest of South West England, and Gibraltar was in the South West England constituency of the European Parliament until 31 January 2020.

Some areas in Torquay[18]

Aerial view of Torquay Harbour

Torquay is situated on the southwestern coast of England, forming one-third of Torbay, on the western side of the bay. It has a mild microclimate, receiving among the longest hours of sunlight per day in the south-west of the United Kingdom, with winters that tend to be mild and wet. The record low temperature of −8.9C was recorded in 1940, and again in 1947. A record high temperature of 31.5C was recorded on 14 July 2013, at 5:30 pm,[19]

The town is made up of a number of small settlements that amalgamated into the town of Torquay. The town's historic core consists of Tormohun (also historically known as Tormoham),[20] Wellswood, The Warberries, Upton and Ellacombe and is based upon what was once the holdings of the Palk family. In 1900, Chelston and Livermead, part of the Cockington estate owned by the Mallocks, were annexed by the town and this was followed by the absorption of the former borough of St Marychurch. In this period St Marychurch covered Plainmoor, Watcombe, Babbacombe and Kingskerswell.[21] In 1928, the Mallocks' last holdings in Cockington were integrated into the town borders. Torquay expanded throughout the century leading to the development of Shiphay, Hele Village, Barton and since the 1990s, The Willows and since 2010, onwards Edginswell and into Kingskerswell giving the town its current layout as well as Maidencombe up to the Gabwell's.

Wellswood and the Lincombes were built up by wealthy Victorians who, influenced by their travels around the Mediterranean, built large villas with Italianate features and towers. There are many pine trees, Bay bushes and trees (Laurus nobilis), various palm tree species and Phormiums. Cabbage trees or "Torbay Palms" are a notable feature of the area; the trees were introduced into the area from New Zealand in 1820, and since then have flourished. The vegetation gives Torquay a look of a more exotic climate than its high latitude cool oceanic location.

The main beaches of Torquay are Oddicombe Beach, Meadfoot Beach, Maidencombe, Watcombe, Babbacombe Beach, Anstey's Cove, Redgate, Torre Abbey Sands, Corbyn Sands and Institute Beach and Hollacombe Beach.[22] The first two of these held European Blue Flag status in 2012.[23]

The Sticklepath fault line, which runs across Devon from Bideford Bay to Torquay,[24] is one of many geological faults criss-crossing Torbay; the Babbacombe Cliff Railway takes advantage of one of these fault lines.[25]

Torquay Railway Station in 1988

Transport in Torquay – the railway (black, with Torre and Torquay stations marked), A380 (green), A3022 and A379 (red), and B3199 (yellow)

Torquay has two railway stations. Torquay railway station is situated near the sea, close to Torre Abbey Sands. Torre railway station is situated a little inland adjacent to the road leading to Newton Abbot. Not all trains stop at Torre. As of 2013, there were plans for station improvements at Torquay and Torre (and at Paignton) and to build a new station at Edginswell.[26]

Torquay is connected to the UK motorway network by the A380, which traces the outskirts of the town as Hellevoetsluis Way and Hamelin Way, leading to the A38 and the M5 at Exeter. The A3022 branches from the A380, leading into Torquay as Riviera Way, to the seafront as Newton Road and then Avenue Road, and then on to Paignton as Torbay Road. The A379 runs past the harbour to Babbacombe and St Marychurch, and then north along the coast to Teignmouth. Work on constructing a new dual carriageway on the outskirts of Torquay near the Kingskerswell end was completed in 2015 with a new junction between the A380 South Devon Highway and Torbay Ring Road. The main bus route operated by Stagecoach Devon passes through Torquay – the "Hop 12" number 12 service between Newton Abbot and Brixham, – while other routes operate within the town.[27]

Central Church, Torquay

For a summary of the 2001 census results on religion, see below, Demographics

Torquay has about 60 churches[28] from a wide variety of Christian denominations. The largest congregations are those of St Matthias (Anglican) and Upton Vale Baptist church. Central Church (Methodist and United Reformed Church) has a notable pierced screen wall facade. St Matthias's Church, Wellswood, was built as a chapel-of-ease to St Mark's, Torwood, in the 1850s and became a parish church in 1880. In the 1970s, the churches of St Mark and Holy Trinity were closed and in 1979, the vicar of St Matthias's became rector of the parish of St Matthias, St Mark and Holy Trinity.[29]

St Saviour's Church and St Michael's Chapel are medieval church buildings, now Anglican. St Saviour's originally had no aisles but a north aisle was added in the 14th century. The tower is at the west end and early medieval in date. Over restoration was carried out both on the exterior and interior in 1849. The monuments include one in early Tudor style to Thomas Cary (d. 1567) and another to Thomas Ridgeway (d. 1604) which includes an alabaster effigy. The Chapel of St Michael is only 36 by 15 ft and its floor is the uneven surface of the rock on which it stands. The roof has a barrel vault and the windows are small. The 19th-century Anglican churches of Torquay include All Saints, Bamfylde Road (1884–90, architect John Loughborough Pearson), St John's, Montpelier Terrace (1861–71, architect George Edmund Street), St Luke's (1863, architect Sir Arthur Blomfield), St Mark's, St Mark's Road (1856–57, architect Anthony Salvin), St Mary Magdalene, Union Street (1846, architect Anthony Salvin), and St Michael, Pimlico (1877, architect Pritchard).[30]

The former St Andrew's Presbyterian church (built in 1862) on Torwood Gardens Road closed in 1951, and after a time as a nightclub, was converted to private residences.[31]

There is also a Christadelphian meeting hall in the town.[32]

There is also an Islamic centre and mosque.[33] A United Hebrew Congregation synagogue was closed in 2000, and the congregation dissolved.[34]

In 2001, unemployment in Torquay was high at 6.8% – this compared with 3.9% for Devon, and 5.0% for England as a whole.[35]

Many locals were employed in the Pontins holiday centre before it was sold off. Torquay was the home of Suttons Seeds until it relocated to the neighbouring town of Paignton in 1998, and Beverage Brands, the owners of the popular and controversial alcoholic brand WKD, was based in the town until 2011.[36]

Tourism

Torquay Pavilion, with St John's Church in the background

Torquay from Torre Abbey Sands

Torquay Harbour

Torquay has numerous tourist attractions, including Kents Cavern, Britain's most important Stone Age site, which was home to early man for some 40,000 years. The floor is composed of several strata, with remains indicating the prehistoric coexistence there of humans and now-extinct animals. The Rev. J. McEnery explored the cave between 1825 and 1829, and put forth the coexistence theory. The cave was extensively explored from 1865 to 1880 by William Pengelly, who found evidence to support McEnery's hypothesis. The caves have attracted many famous people, among them Agatha Christie,[37] Beatrix Potter, King George V and Haile Selassie who was so impressed with his visit that he gave his guide, Leslie Powe a gold sovereign.

On the seafront between the Rock Walk and the Marina is the Victorian Pavilion (pictured). The adjacent "Friends Fountain" complements the Victorian architecture.

Torquay Museum, the oldest in Devon, was founded in 1844, by The Torquay Natural History Society.[38] The museum contains extensive geology, natural science, archaeology and ethnography collections of international importance, including the oldest fossil evidence of modern man in north-west Europe. The story of the English Riviera Geopark is told through exhibitions about geology, fossils and archaeology including artefacts from Kents Cavern and other local archaeology. The museum has galleries dedicated to diverse topics such as the life of Agatha Christie, ancient Egypt, explorers and ecology. Another gallery displays replica historic farmhouse interiors.[39]

In 1857, the Bath's Saloons complex was built on the promontory overlooking Beacon Cove. This included a ballroom, concert hall and sunlit conservatory and private bathing facilities with, underneath, a large public swimming bath open to the sea. Living Coasts, a coastal zoo owned by Paignton Zoo, was later built on the site of the complex. The stone arches of the public bath were incorporated into the shop at Living Coasts. Development of the site as a marine animal exhibit was first proposed in early 1999 in response to a call from Torbay Council for submissions from interested parties. The project, developed by Kay Elliott architects, included an exhibit to house marine birds, rather than fish, due to the need to avoid duplicating the exhibits at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth. The project was subsequently taken on by Paignton Zoo Environmental Park and named Living Coasts. It was announced in June 2020, that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they were to close permanently.[40]

Other attractions are the Babbacombe Model Village, which opened in 1963; the Babbacombe Theatre which opened in 1939; the Princess Theatre. A large tethered balloon offering aerial views of the town operated for several years until it was destroyed by strong winds in January 2012.[41][42]

From 1875, number of potteries operated in Torquay, making Torquay pottery for both the tourist trade and high-end retail.

A number of sketches for the Monty Python's Flying Circus television show (1969–74) were filmed on location in and around both Torquay and neighbouring Paignton. It was while staying in Torquay at the Gleneagles Hotel with the Python team in 1971, that John Cleese found inspiration (and the setting, although not the actual film location) for the popular sitcom Fawlty Towers (1975, 1979).[60] Incidents during the Pythons' stay are said to include the owner, Donald Sinclair, having thrown Eric Idle's suitcase out of a window in case it contained a bomb.[61] Cleese later described the eccentric owner as, "the most wonderfully rude man I have ever met", although Mr. Sinclair's widow has since said her husband was totally misrepresented in the comedy.[62]

In the 1970s, several episodes of the comedy series The Goodies were filmed in and around Torquay. In 1979, the town was again the site of filming, when the Ray Winstone, BAFTA nominated drama That Summer! was both set in and filmed around the town. In 2003, the movie Blackball starring Paul Kaye was set and partly shot there.[63]

In October 2010, it was reported that Bristol-based artist Banksy had painted a mural on the wall of the Grosvenor Hotel in Belgrave Road. The mural shows a child drawing a robot, and uses the vent of an extractor fan as the head of the robot.[64] The painting was vandalised in May 2011.[65] This mural has now been painted over due to the Grosvenor Hotel being refurbished by the new owners (Richardsons) in 2014.

The Victorian mansion in Torquay where Agatha Christie was born and grew up, Ashfield in Barton Road, was demolished in 1961, to build an estate and extension for South Devon College.[66] A blue plaque was unveiled in 2007, marking the spot.[67][68]

• Agatha Christie - English mystery and detective writer

• Babbacombe Cliff Railway

• Russell, Percy (1960). A History of Torquay. Torquay: Devonshire Press Limited.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Torquay.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Torquay.

• – The Geology of Torbay, from a local geologist.