History of Torquay
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[edit] Early Torquay
The area comprising modern Torquay has been inhabited since paleolithic times. Hand axes found in Kents Cavern date to 450,000 years ago, and a maxilla fragment known as Kents Cavern 4 may be oldest example of a modern human in Europe.
Roman Soldiers are known to have visited Torquay at some point during the period when Britain was a part of the Roman Empire, leaving offerings at a strange rock formation in Kent's Cavern, known as 'The Face'.
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). 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.
Exactly 100 years later, William III (also known as William of Orange) landed at Brixham in Torbay on 5 November 1688 before marching to London, on his way to gaining control of the country in the "Glorious Revolution".
[edit] Early 19th century
An early visitor to Torquay in 1794 is recorded as saying “Instead of the poor uncomfortable village we had expected, how great was our surprise at seeing a pretty range of neat new buildings, fitted up for summer visitors.Visitors here can enjoy carriage rides, bathing, retirement and a most romantic situation.”
Torquay owes much to Napoleon. The Napoleonic wars meant that the rich elite could no longer visit abroad and looked for local destinations to visit instead. Torbay, the large bay of which Torquay is founded on the Northern side of, 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.
Sometime before 1807 the first “town plans” were drawn up on behalf of Sir Laurence Palk. After a Grand Tour of Europe, Palk brought back from Italy architectural ideas which he incorporated into his villa designs. Several of these original properties still stand among the tree-clad hills, notably Lisburne Crescent and, the grandest of all, Hesketh Crescent, with its sweeping Regency façade.
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.
Admiral Nelson visited the town on 18 January 1801, at Torre Abbey Mansions and later dined in Cockington, part of Torquay.
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 in winter to recover from 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.
[edit] Later 19th century
In the 1840s railway mania hit Torquay. It is difficult for us 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!
On a Saturday morning in 1852 a town meeting decided to continue the railway down to the sea, to the harbour. The people at the meeting imagined Torquay as an industrial town, importing raw materials through the harbour and transporting finished articles inland. This decision caused great controversy, and in the afternoon of the same day another meeting was held cancelling the decision of the morning and deciding to continue the railway to the sea but not to the harbour. As a result Torquay kept its character as a tourist town and became the place it is today. The new railway station was opened on 2 August 1859 with the line to Paignton.
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 by 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 towns 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. [1]
With the town becoming more and more popular it started attracting foreign visitors, The Overmead Hotel was originally called the Villa Syracusa, a private home built for the Russian Romanov family.
While the Romanov family was in residence, they entertained the Russian Royal Family at the Villa. During their absences, the villa was often let privately. In August 1864 the Prince of Wales visited the Grand Duchess Marie of Russia while she was staying at the Villa Syracusa. Her party included the count Gregoire Stroganoff and Countess Alexandra Tolstoy.
The Imperial Hotel also welcomed many famous guests during this period of the town's history such as Emperor Napoleon III, the Queen of the Netherlands and King Edward VII.
Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell (July 24, 1813–February 15, 1886) the MP who reformed the British military after the debacle of the Crimean War, was a prominent resident of Torquay during his latter years and passed away in the town on February 15, 1886.
In later years Queen Victoria reviewed the entire Royal Navy in the waters of Torbay.
In 1889 the Winter Gardens were built to provide entertainment for winter holidaymakers. The cast-iron and glass structure could seat up to 1,000 people for the concerts held by an Italian band, and also featured three tennis courts and a bowling alley. However, the Winter Gardens were not very successful and in 1903 the building was sold to Great Yarmouth. The structure was shipped by barge from Torquay without the loss of a single pane of glass and is still in use today (including a brief period during the 1990s as a nightclub, under the management of Jim Davidson).
Agatha Christie was born in the town on September 15th 1890, and was christened at All Saints Church, Bamfylde Rd, Torre on October 20th 1890, she would go on to become one of the world's best selling and most famous novellists.
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.
[edit] Early 20th century
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 World War I.
The Royal Family and the Royal Navy once again descended on the town, as King George V reviewed the Home Fleet in the waters of the bay.
[edit] World War I
[edit] 1914
In the early days many volunteers signed on for military service and columns of young men were seen marching through the town following recruiting campaigns. Later, there were harrowing sights of wounded officers and men arriving to convalesce at the Red Cross hospitals. In August 1914, the Red Cross Hospital opened in the Town hall with 50 beds, the first convoy of wounded arriving on 21 October "when a hospital-train arrived at Torre Station with eight British officers and 40 wounded men from France".
The officers went to Stoodley Knowle, owned by Torquay's MP Colonel Burn, but they were greeted by the Hon. Mrs Burn and Miss Burn "who were attired as Red Cross nurses". In addition to Stoodley Knowle, other war hospitals were set up at the Mount (but later moved to Rockwood); the Manor House (Lady Layland Barratt); Lyncourt (Hon. Helen Cubitt) and the "Western Hospital for Consumptives". There was also a home at Royden, described as a "Convalescent Home for Blinded Soldiers and Sailors". Queen Mary visited the Town Hall (and Oldway) in November.
One of the units which was later to be cut to pieces at Gallipoli arrived in the town in December. Some 900 men of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers came from Plymouth. Before they "left for the Front", their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Rooth, handed over the colours to the Mayor for safe-keeping. They did not go to France as expected but to be part of the ill-fated attack against the Turks when many were killed. Recruits for Lord Kitchener's New Army (men of the Royal Army Medical Corps) were also in the town at Christmas.
[edit] 1915
In September King George V and Queen Mary visited the Town Hall and Stoodley Knowle hospitals where they saw wounded soldiers from the campaigns in France, Flanders and Gallipoli. There were then five hospitals, two of which "flew the Red Cross Flag" (the Town Hall and Rockwood). By this time the Western Hospital had become the "Auxiliary Military Hospital" (with an annex at Underwood).
There were so many casualties that the Torbay Hospital had allocated more than 50 beds for war wounded. The civilian population was also caught up in the struggle for men to serve in France after those, and other, battles. The "Torquay Local Tribunal" was set up under an ex-Service (or other) chairman to hear cases of local men seeking deferment. The grounds had to be good ones and, in the case of those seeking it for health reasons, supported by two doctors. One case before Mr F. J. Crocker in June 1916 warranted the granting of "conditional exemption only". It concerned William Rowe of Ilsham Manor Farm, who sought to delay his registration because he and his two sons "had to deal with 46 cows. The farm had 340 acres of which 200 were arable; 70 were tilled with corn, 25 with roots and five with potatoes, which were of importance". This was just one of many cases heard.
[edit] 1917
From May onwards wounded soldiers from the New Zealand Expeditionary Force began to arrive and entered a permanent convalescent camp at St Marychurch, a "Special YMCA" being opened for their use.
[edit] 1918
The continuing presence of the New Zealanders resulted in the opening of a YMCA in Torquay at Maycliff in St. Luke's Road in April and, a month later, the Kia Toa Club (now the Victorian Arcade) for those awaiting repatriation. The Council gave each serviceman "suitably inscribed views of Torquay"; in all, 22,000 were distributed.
Many sailed home in RMS Ruihine (10,000 tons) which was anchored well out in the Bay. September 1918 saw the serious outbreak of the Spanish Flu which is said to have caused more deaths than there had been on the battlefield. Over 100 US servicemen died at the Oldway Hospital in a fortnight. They were buried in Paignton cemetery but were exhumed later and taken to the USA.
Armistice was declared in November and some weeks later there was excitement at the Harbour when the German submarine U161 arrived while British "water-planes flew in the air [and] descended on to the water" [possibly an early "victory roll"]. These were seaplanes from the base on Beacon Quay which had been there throughout the War, the Coastlines shed being altered for use as a hangar. It was operated by the RNAS with Short 184 seaplanes but became "239 Squadron RAF" after the amalgamation of the RFC and RNAS.
There was a sad final act to Torquay's war experience, on Boxing Day 1918 the Mayor handed back the colours to a Guard from the 1st Dublin Fusiliers, the colours had hung in the Council Chamber for four years, and out of a battalion 1,100 strong that had arrived in Torquay those few years ago, only 40 were now left, it had been decimated at the landing at Suvla Bay. This kinda of horrendous loss of life was repeated throughout many regiments which fought in the Great War and had never been experienced before.
During World War I soldiers were brought to Torquay to recover from their injuries and Oldway Mansion became an American Hospital "The Rotunda", a huge circular ward.
After the Great 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.
[edit] World War II
[edit] 1939
Although training in "air-raid precautions" started as early as 1935, recruiting only began in earnest in January. Wardens were recruited and every house was visited and between 20,000 and 30,000 civilian gas respirators fitted. In March the Torbay ARP Committee decided to purchase Upton Schools as headquarters for the Torbay Area at a cost of £3,350. Trained volunteers totalled 2,033. There were then on order 2,200 sandbags, 200 suits of clothing, 69,000 respirators and 140 steel helmets "and the Home Office was waiting for an address to sent them to".
On 1 September, two days before War was declared, permanent "Wardens' Posts" were established and sand-bagged. Just eight days later, the first air-raid exercise took place during which a "mustard gas bomb was dropped in St. Marks Road".
Devon (and by extension Torquay) was considered a safe place to send evacuees during World War Two. Stately homes were used as boarding schools for children from the London area.
Within days of the declaration, plans were announced for rationing meat and petrol. The books issued for the latter covered two months but did not say how much each coupon would be worth. Coal and coke rationing was added to the list before the end of the month. An early slogan was: "Walls have ears... The enemy has a spy system. Chance remarks are often dangerous. STOP TALKING". The possibility the enemy might use gas was a real one and the town's Wardens went from house-to-house preparing residents for wearing their respirators. Local inhabitants had two other innovations before the end of the year; in late September the "Food Control Office" opened in the Electric Hall and "Registration Day" was on the 29th. Every inhabitant received a Registration Card with his/her own unique number. There was little or no adverse comment.
Not long after this, in October, the Palace Hotel opened as a convalescent hospital for RAF officers, originally with 48 beds but soon expanded to nearly 250. Until it was bombed in October 1942, many aircrew recovered there, including James Nicholson, the only RAF VC.
[edit] 1940
In 1940 Wrighton of Walthamstow took over Sansom's garage opposite the Chilcote Memorial. Up to 300 worked there where parts of aircraft (including the Short Sunderland flying-boat) were manufactured. After the Fall of France the invasion of Britain became a real possibility, machine-gun posts and pill-boxes were built (in Torquay the work was done by the East Kents, the Buffs)and naval guns were also placed on Corbyn Head.
In May, Anthony Eden made his historic broadcast appeal asking those men between the ages of 17 and 65 who were not already on War Service to join the 'Local Defence Volunteers, they would be "unpaid but would wear uniforms and be armed". In two days 400 had joined and by Monday the 20th the register had closed with 600 "on the books". In July the name was changed to the Home Guard.
Torquay's major contribution to the war effort was by providing hotels for the RAF in which to train aircrew. No 1 ITW (Initial Training Wing) was formed at Babbacombe in June 1940. Headquarters were at the Norcliffe Hotel, the Sefton, Oswalds, Trecarn, Foxlands and Palermo Hotels being used for sleeping, etc. Postings were made from Babbacombe to Elementary Flying Training Schools (including overseas in Canada and Southern Rhodesia [now Zimbabwe]) where they became pilots, observers, W/T operators and wireless operators/air gunners.
From the first intake of 579 recruits in July 1940, almost a further 27,000 airmen were to trained there before the Wing left Babbacombe. No 3 ITW also came to Torquay in June. Its headquarters were at St. James' Hotel (now Harbour Point). Hotels in Beacon Terrace were requisitioned, together with Park Hall Hotel and the Regina Hotel (which was slightly damaged during a "tip and run raid" in June 1942); the Dorchester and Devonshire Hotels were requisitioned later, from February 1943. St. Vincents' Hotel (now flats) was taken over for use by the WAAF. Some 8,000 trainees passed through before it was disbanded in February 1944.
A third ITW was No 5. which also moved to Torquay in June 1940. Headquarters were in Castle Chambers, later moving to Hotel Metropole (now the Cavendish). A full list of hotels used is not known but they included the Majestic and Stanbury Hotels which were damaged on 30 May 1943 and had to be evacuated. Some 10,000 men completed their training at No 3 ITW. No 13 ITW was formed in Torquay in June 1941 and trained pilots, observers and navigators principally from the Commonwealth and Allied Air Forces. The intakes were smaller and the courses longer, so only about 3,000 passed through the Wing. The Headquarters were in the Belgrave Hotel at first and later at Torre Abbey. The logbook of this Wing records the arrival of the US Forces in Torbay. In January 1944 1,500 troops in transit were fed in relays. In February 1944 when the Wing was about to move to Bridgnorth, first the Rosetor (now the Riviera Centre) was handed over to the US Army, to be followed by the Belgrave shortly after. Another ITW, No 21, was in the town for a brief spell. Numbers trained were small, only about 1,000 but it helped to raise the total number of airmen trained in Torquay to some 49,000.
[edit] 1941
The first "War Weapons Week" was held and on the first day raised £150,007 towards the half-million it was eventually hoped for. During the early part of the year evacuees came to Torbay from Bristol and Plymouth (during the blitz of both cities). The deteriorating war situation resulted in a survey of railings "available for munitions" (i.e. melting down), their removal started later early the next year.
On 22 April 1941 Torquay had its first serious raid (at the time of the Plymouth Blitz) when the house of the chief warden in the Warberries was destroyed and two of his children killed. On 4 May there was another when 31 HE (High Explosive) bombs were dropped in Forest Road, the Daison and at Maidencombe.
[edit] 1942
In March the small vessel, intended as a "block-ship" across Torquay Harbour, was sunk in an air-raid and in May a British Typhoon aircraft crashed-landed on Meadfoot Beach, the pilot being uninjured. However, when a German fighter was shot down on to Tor Abbey Sands and caught fire, its pilot perished because the barbed-wire and other defences on the promenade prevented any rescue attempt being made.
No 39 Air-Sea Rescue unit was based in Torquay Harbour (which is possibly why a blockship was kept ready). Later, in 1944, HSL No 2511 was on station at Torquay; it was a 67-ft Thornycroft vessel,similar to the famous Whaleback designed by Hubert Scott-Payne. There was also thought to have been a Sunderland flying-boat based in the Harbour for a short time, a landing platform being moored near Haldon Pier for use by the crew.
Sunday evening, June 7, was warm and sunny, the beaches and sea front were crowded when four raiders flew in low over the sea and dropped four bombs and were gone nine minutes before the siren sounded. One exploded behind the amusement arcades near the Torbay Hotel; no one was injured here but there were casualties elsewhere.
An air-raid on August Bank Holiday caused considerable damage and casualties; so too did the early evening raid on 4 September. This was the occasion on which properties were destroyed in Tor Hill Road and Rosery Road. The main gasholder at Hollacombe was set on fire, later Mr Denton and Sgt. Richardson (of the Home Guard) were each to receive the George Medal for gallantry.
A major raid on Torquay took place on 25 October. This was the occasion when the Palace Hotel was seriously damaged and many RAF personnel killed. (The empty hotel was damaged again in a second raid just months later). The gasholder at Barton was also set on fire during this attack.
[edit] 1943
One of the worst tragedies to hit the local population was the "Rogation Sunday" attack which destroyed the Parish Church at St. Marychurch and resulted in the deaths of 21 children. One of the aircraft touched the spire of the RC church nearby and crashed into houses in Teignmouth Road.
Morrison and Anderson shelters were delivered in all the Torbay towns later in the year. Morrison indoor shelters "would be issued free to those employed in an occupation compulsorily insured under the NHI Acts and whose earnings did not exceed £350 p.a. Others could purchase them for £7" (a year later, with D-Day over, the various Councils collected them for use in London which was suffering attacks by "V" weapons"). At the end of 1943 those evacuated from the South Hams Battle Area arrived in the Torbay towns.
[edit] 1944
The first of the thousands of US Army personnel arrived in Torquay early in the year. Men of the 3204th Quartermaster Service Company were billeted mainly in Chelston and Cockington. Seven GIs were in "Cypress Heights" with Mr DeSuanne; others were at "Greenhaven" and "Combe Martin" with Mr Meadow in Vicarage Road and at small homes in Sherwell Lane, Rathmore Road, Avenue Road, Old Mill Road and Tor Park Road. Another unit was the 618th Ordnance Ammunition Company, 6th Amphibious Engineers, the men being billeted in private homes in St. Marychurch and Upton.
The 257th Ordnance MM Company, attached to the 6th Engineer Special Brigade, arrived in Torquay on 3 February 1944 "on a very warm winter day". They too went into private homes in St. Marychurch. Little is known about the 31st Chemical Corps, also billeted in Upton and which served in Normandy as part of the 6th Engineer Special Brigade. The concrete "hards" at Beacon Quay had been built for and were used by the embarking troops.
In the build-up to D-day raids on coastal areas were expected. Torbay's took place on Whit Monday, 29 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. Nos 4 and 5 Park Crescent were destroyed but the worst affected property was "Bay Court Hotel" where rescuers dug for days for survivors. This was the last recorded raid and the air attacks had resulted in well over 700 "airraid alerts" being sounded in the Bay.
Early in 1944 a "coast ban", from The Wash to Cornwall, had come into force and visitors were only allowed in if possessing appropriate permits. It was lifted in early July soon after the beach-head in Normandy had been established. The GWR announced: "We expect a big rush of holidaymakers to the South West. There are no arrangements for running extra trains". It opened the floodgates: a fortnight later a display board outside Paddington Station reported: "Paddington overcrowded. Please use alternative routes".
[edit] 1945
Although there were still signs of war and war damage to be repaired, Torquay was "open to visitors" when peace was declared in May.
[edit] 1945 to present day
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).
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 it seems the town will play little part in the Olympics.
