Torquay

See also Torquay, Victoria, in Australia

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

Torquay [tɔː'ki] is a town on the south coast of England in the county of Devon which has extended along the coast of Torbay to the extent that it is now inextricably intermingled with the neighbouring town of Paignton. In the 19th century it became a fashionable seaside resort, renowned for its healthy climate it gained a nickname as the English Riviera.

Although it has been suggested that Torquay roughly signifies 'Thor's Harbor' (cognate to Tórshavn, Faroe Islands and Þórshöfn, Iceland), a more likely root is the Devonian word Tor, for a hill or outcrop, especially common in placenames on nearby Dartmoor.

Contents

History of Torquay

Early Torquay

In 1196, Torre Abbey was founded as a Premonstratensian Monastery and flourished under the influence of the White Canons (monks). It remained that way until April 1539, when it suffered the same fate as all other monasteries – surrendering to the ministers of Henry VIII (Dissolution of the Monasteries). It was bought by Sir George Cary in 1662, and remained with the family until 1929, when Colonel Lionel Cary died and it was bought by the Torquay Corporation (now Torbay Council). The Cary family also owned Cockington from as far back as the 14th Century.

After the failed Spanish Armada of 1588, a part of Torre Abbey was used to house 300 Spanish prisoners, this building has now been named the 'Spanish Barn' in recognition of this.

Early 19th century

Torquay owes much to Napoleon: the Napoleonic wars meant that the rich elite could no longer visit abroad, and instead looked for local destinations to visit. Torbay, the large bay which was founded on the Northern side of Torquay, alongside the other towns of Paignton and Brixham (together founding the Unitary Authority of Torbay), is ideal as a large sheltered anchorage for ships, and was frequently used by the Channel Fleet which protected England against invasion by Napoleon. Wives and relatives of officers, visited Torquay to be near their loved ones in the fleet.

After Napoleon was captured, he was held on the warship HMS Bellerophon, nicknamed 'Billy Ruffian', in Torbay for two days before being taken to Plymouth and then to St. Helena. Napoleon also helped the prosperity of Torquay in another way, local smugglers did very good business 'importing' French brandy during the Napoleonic Wars, and since then smuggling of one kind or another has not completely stopped.

The mild winter climate and good air in Torquay attracted many visitors, who came for health reasons. During the whole of the 19th century ,Torquay was considered a health resort where the wealthy would come during the winter to recover from any illness.

The population of Torquay grew rapidly from 838 in 1801, to 11,474 in 1851. By 1850, there were about 2000 bedrooms in the small hotels of Torquay.

Later 19th century

In the 1840s, railway mania hit Torquay. It is difficult now to imagine how important railways were to the 19th century. Perhaps the situation was best described by a noted English historian G.M. Trevelyan, who wrote: 'The railways were England's gift to the world.' In fact, a large proportion of the world's trains still roll along tracks manufactured in the last century, with the words 'Made in Birmingham' stamped on them.

The people of Torquay knew that the railways would bring visitors and prosperity, and they wanted the railway to come to their town. Finally, on 18 December 1848, the station in Torre (some distance from the sea) was opened, and Torquay was connected to the world!

The railways also had a great effect on the surrounding towns and countryside. Torquay grew in importance because it a had a railway station, but not all towns were so fortunate. Many towns looked on desperately as the trains passed them without stopping - taking their prosperity with them. These towns died economically; even the road transport was reduced, because so many goods were carried on the new trains.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel was an important figure in the town's history; he built the nearby Atmospheric railway and the rail links to Torquay, and had began buying up large areas of the Watcombe district of Torquay where he had planned to retire in his old age. Unfortunantely, the great man died an early death, and never reached his retirement. [link]

In later years, Queen Victoria reviewed the entire Royal Navy in the waters of Torbay.

In 1892, two events took place which were to radically change both the appearance and outlook of Torquay. Through trains were introduced, and Torquay was granted Borough status; the town was now ready for expansion and to start building a new image. The healthy were encouraged to come as well as the ailing - the Victorian watering place soon became transformed into a holiday resort.

Early 20th century

The Strand, 1900

1902 saw the first advertising campaign to bring healthy visitors to Torquay, rather than people recovering from illnesses. Torquay changed in character from being a winter holiday resort, to being a summer holiday resort. Rail traffic increased steadily until the Great War.

Once again, the Royal Family and Royal Navy descended on the town, as King George V reviewed the Home Fleet in the waters of the bay.

World Wars and Inter-War Years

During the Great War, Torquay was mainly used for military hospitals, and was largely spared the horrors of war beyond the hospital bays; many troops also used the town as a staging area, before shipping off to the continent to join the war effort. Notable happenings in the town during the war were the visit of King George V and Queen Mary in September 1915, and the medical care of many soldiers that participated in the famous Gallipoli campaign.

After the war, an effective advertising campaign by The Great Western Railway Company was responsible for making Torquay a major resort. The busiest day was on August Bank Holiday in 1938, just before the outbreak of World War II, when 20,000 passengers arrived in Torquay station, followed by 50 trains the next day.

When war broke out for a second time, the town would see more action, including bombing raids; the stationing of American military personnel would play a large part in the D-Day landings.

During the war, Devon (and by extension Torquay) was considered a safe place to send child evacuees, and stately homes were used as boarding schools for children from the London area.

Torquay suffered a number of bombing raids during this period, mainly from planes dumping excessive loads after participating in the Plymouth Blitz; however, they succeeded in causing substanial damage throughout the town, especially so to the Palace Hotel, which was being used as a RAF Hospital at the time.

The first of the thousands of US Army personnel arrived in Torquay in early 1944. Men of the 3204th Quartermaster Service Company were billeted mainly in Chelston and Cockington. In the build-up to D-day, raids on coastal areas were expected, and that of Torbay took place on Whit Monday, on 29th May, when some 20 planes are believed to have been in Torbay, laying mines; some carried bombs, and these were dropped around the Harbour, in Chelston and elsewhere. This was the last recorded raid during the war, and the air attacks had resulted in well over 700 'air raid alerts' being sounded in the Bay.

With the successful conclusion of the war, Torquay was 'open to visitors' in May 1945, although there were still signs of war damage to be repaired.

1945 to present day

Olympic Parade in 1948

Since the war, tourist patterns have changed considerably. Many more people have the money to travel abroad for their holidays and nearly everyone has a car. This means that fewer visit British holiday resorts but when they do they do usually travel by car. The British holiday has become a touring holiday with visitors staying only one or two days in each place. The visitor does not bother to book a hotel, but prefers to stay at one of the numerous cheap bed & breakfast establishments instead (b&b's). The Beatles song "Day Tripper" is about this form of holidaymaking.

Part of the Torquay seafront at high tide

With its unrivalled Bay, the English Riviera has been famed for its watersports for many a year and in 1948 the watersports events of the Olympic Games were held here. The Olympic flame was brought from London and burned for the duration at Torre Abbey Gardens.

In recent years Torquay has become better known abroad and has received more foreign tourists who usually tour in cars like the British holidaymakers. It is also a major destination for foreign language students, who visit the town for the summer to learn English and see the sights of England.

Torquay was also hoping to be a part of the London 2012 games by being the official warm up venue for the sailing events. The actual events during the Olympics will be held in Weymouth unlike in 1948. However they also missed out on this opportunity and the town will play no part in the Olympics.

Eponymous Royal Navy ships

HMS Torquay

Throughout its history Torquay and the bay it is situated within has had a number of ships named after it:

HMS Torbay (1693), 80-gun second-rate which participated in the Battle of Vigo Bay, 1702 a naval battle of the coast of Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession.

HMS Torbay (1919), destroyer

HMS Torbay (1940), submarine

HMS Torquay (F43) (10th May 1956 - Scrapped 1987), Whitby Class Frigate Type 12. Torquay participated in the Suez War.

HMS Torbay (S90) (February 7,1987 - Present Day) Trafalgar-class nuclear submarine of the Royal Navy. Laided down December 3, 1982, Launched March 8, 1985 and commissioned February 7,1987.

Geography

One of the many "Torbay Palms" growing in Torquay

Torquay is situated on the South West coast of England, forming one third of Torbay, and is primarily on the western side of the bay. It has a mild microclimate, and cabbage trees (often erroneously dubbed "Torbay Palms") are a notable feature of the area. They were introduced into the area in 1820 from New Zealand and since then have flourished. There are currently thousands throughout the town.

Torquay is also set along a coastline renowed for its beaches, having no fewer than nine popular beaches. The high standards of water quality and beach facilities mean that many carry coveted awards, including no fewer than three European Blue Flags - more than any other resort in the UK. The nine main beaches of Torquay, a string of nine beautiful beaches and coves stretched out along the palm lined coast, are as follows:

Maidencombe Beach
Watcombe Beach
Oddicombe Beach
Babbacombe Beach
Anstey's Cove
Meadfoot Beach
Torre Abbey Sands
Corbyn Sands

Transport

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. There is a bus service that goes from Newton Abbot to Brixham stopping off in Torquay and Paignton, this is the 12 service, if you wish to go to South Devon College, you would have to get on the 12A service, that also goes from Newton Abbot to Brixham, but stopes off in Torquay, Paignton and South Devon College.

Tourist attractions

Numerous tourist attractions vie for a share of the resort's visitors including Britain's most important Stone Age site, Kents Cavern which was home to early man for some 700,000 years and where tourists can visit this subterranean wonderland. 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 (1825–29) the cave and put forth the coexistence theory. The cave was extensively explored from 1865 to 1880 by William Pengelly, who found proof to support McEnery's hypothesis. The Caves have attracted many famous people, among them Agatha Christie, Beatrix Potter, King George V of the United Kingdom and Haile Selassie who was so impressed with his visit that he gave his guide, Leslie Powe a gold sovereign.

Living Coasts

Living Coasts, another popular Torquay attraction, is built on Beacon Quay which has existed since 1680. 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. The beautiful stone arches of this public bath can still be seen today and have been cleverly incorporated into the shop at Living Coasts.Development of the site, as a marine animal exhibit was first proposed in the early part of 1999. It was in response to a call from Torbay Borough 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.

Another old favourite of tourists, is the Babbacombe Model Village. Opened in 1963 it has attracted children and adults of all ages for generations and is considered one of the best examples of a model village in England.

Paignton Zoo is situated in the nearby town of Paignton (inextricably intermingled with Torquay), this is a top tourist atrraction and one of the best zoos in the country currently. It has undergone extensive rebuilding in the past decade, marking a movement from the old way of caged animals to displaying animals in exhibits as close to their natural habitat as possible. This renovation has been made possible thanks to investment by the European Regional Development Fund and the zoo itself.

The Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway is another top attraction operating heritage steam trains over part of the railway referred to in this article, from Paignton to Kingswear

The Princess Theatre is a popular venue in the town.

Professional sports

Torquay is represented in the English Coca-Cola Football League Two by Torquay United F.C.. The team plays their home matches at Plainmoor and has spent its entire history in the bottom two leagues of English football. The 2004/05 season resulted in the team being relegated from League One to League Two, a reverse of their fortunes of the previous season. While 2005/06 saw them escape relegation from The Football League only on the last day of the season and after two changes of manager in as many months.

Torquay also hosted the World Snooker European Open 2003 at the Palace Hotel, which was won by Ronnie O'Sullivan, in the same year the town also hosted the World Snooker Championship Qualifiers, also held at the Palace Hotel.

Torquay in English culture

A number of sketches for Monty Python's Flying Circus 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 for Fawlty Towers, a popular sitcom made in the 1970s. Incidents during the Pythons' stay are said to include the owner, Donald Sinclair, having thrown Eric Idle's suitcase out of the window thinking it was a bomb. 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.

Although it is claimed that location filming for Fawlty Towers was actually done in Cambridge, Berkshire and Bedfordshire, in the episode "Gourmet Night", there is film footage of Basil in a shopping area where shopfronts show Torquay addresses and phone numbers.

Torquay is the birthplace of the crime novelist (and second highest selling fiction author of all time) Agatha Christie and of the comedian Peter Cook.

Issac Merritt Singer and his family held a strong presence in the area, especially during the late 19th century, building Oldway Mansion in nearby Paignton (partially in the style of the Palace of Versailles).

Torquay is also the home of the co-presenter of popular Sky Sports One program "Soccer AM" Helen Chamberlain.

Oscar Wilde is said to have written A Woman of No Importance while visiting the area.

Los Angeles radio personality Richard Blade is originally from Torquay.

International erotic entertainment artiste, Layla "Potty-Mouth" Jade was born in Torquay in 1980.

Torquay is popular for self-catering accommodation and English Riviera Holidays.

Torquay is the setting for the 2003 movie Blackball staring Paul Kaye and Vince Vaughn. The movie is about Cliff Starkey who is the Bad Boy of Lawn Bowls

Demographics

Population (2001 census)

Demographic	Number Of People
Males	61,773
Females	67,933
Aged 0 to 15	23,321
Aged 16 to 74	90,852
Aged 75 or over	15,533

Marital status (2001 census)

Marital Status	Number Of People
Single (Never Married)	26,880
Married or Re-Married	53,327
Separated or Divorced	14,273
Widowed	11,905

Religion (2001 census)

Religion	Number Of People
Christian	98,820
Buddhist	196
Hindu	66
Jewish	159
Muslim	341
Sikh	50
Other	476
No Religion	19,345
Religion Not Stated	10,253

Employment status (2001 census)

Employment Status	Number Of People
Employed	51,830
Umemployed	3,763
Long Term Unemployed	945
Student (Economically Active)	1,937
Retired	16,321
Student (Economically Inactive)	2,372
Looking After Home/Famiy	5,664
Permenantly sick/diasbled	6,461
Other inactive	2,504

(all people aged 16-74)

All Demographics are for Torbay as a whole, not just Torquay and are taken from the 2001 British Census, information available [Here]

Social issues in Torquay

Michael Howard in Torquay during the 2005 general election

Politics

Torquay, as one of the three main towns that Torbay consists of, is run by Torbay Council which has its town hall at the top of the Torquay high street. Currently the Liberal Democrats are the party in power, with David Cameron's Conservative Party in a relatively close second place and Tony Blair's Labour Party a very distant third.

From the 1920s until 1997 Torbay constituency was a safe Tory seat until Adrian Sanders overturned spy novel writer Rupert Allason's majority by just 12 votes, widened to 6,708 in 2001. During the 2005 general election, Conservative leader Michael Howard visited the town. However, Sanders retained the seat with 40.8% of the votes (19,317, down from 23,012 in 2001). A swing of 9.7% away from the Liberal Democrats was split between the Conservatives (with a 4.9% swing), Labour - who gained a substantial increase in their vote as support for Lib Dems in 97 and 01 moved back and UKIP, whose bigwig Graham Booth improved on his deposit-losing 2001 performance with a 4.7% increase in his vote.

In 2005, a referendum was held to appoint Torbay's first Elected Mayor. In the ensuing election in October 2005, the winning candidate was a former Liberal Parliamentary Candidate, Nicholas Bye, who won the election as a Conservative.

Education

Torquay is host to many primary and secondary schools of all variations, including private and Catholic based schools.

There are four main secondary schools in the town. One is Torquay Community College, previously known as Audley Park. This school has had its troubles in the past and has in the past two years come out of governmental special measures. Its 2004 exam results are available [Here]

The other mainstream secondary school in Torquay is Westlands Secondary School and Technology College. This is a combined secondary college and 6th form that takes students of all variations and has recently moved to a brand new modern building. Its 2004 exam results are available [Here]

The other three state secondary schools of Torquay are more selective than the previous two. They are St Cuthbert Mayne School, a secondary school exclusively available to followers of Roman Catholic and Church of England faiths, and Torquay Boys' Grammar School and Torquay Grammar School for Girls' which are available only to those that pass the 11+ intelligence test and the schools' own standardised test. The 2004 results for St Cuthbert Mayne school are available [here], the Boys' Grammar School results [here] and finally the Girls' Grammar School [here]. There are also a number of private schools in the area including Studley Knowle School and the Abbey School.

For further education, students can either go to one of the sixth forms at the previous mentioned Westlands, St Cuthbert's Mayne or Grammar schools, or they can go to South Devon College which is based in Long Road in Paignton on a new campus which became fully open in Jan 2006.

Should students pass through school or college and wish to continue in their education at university, they will have to leave Torquay. Should they wish to continue living in Torquay they have the option of applying to either Exeter or Plymouth universities, each roughly an hour train journey from Torquay train station.

Crime

Offences	Total	Rate per 1,000 population	Average rate per 1,000 population in England & Wales
Violence Against The Person	1,408	11.2	10.9
Sexual Offences	104	0.8	0.7
Robbery Offences	72	0.6	1.5
Burglary Dwelling Offences	1,014	8.0	6.5
Theft Of Motor Vehicle	293	2.3	5.0
Theft From Vehicle	1,352	10.7	10.9

Information taken from 2001/2002 crime figures in Torbay, available [Here]

Healthcare

Torquay's healthcare needs are seen to by NHS-run Torbay hospital which is situated on the main road out of Torquay and the private, non-emergency Mount Stuart on St Vincents Road.

External links

Government and Eduational Links

Historical Links

Tourist Attractions

Sports Links

General Information

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