Poet and hymn writer Charlotte Elliott (1789-1871) lived in Torquay for 14 years. In Spring of 1845 Charlotte' moved to Torquay. Her  brother wrote, "Later in that year we moved to Torquay by medi…

Do you shop in the Newton Road Lidls, or Plainmoor’s Waitrose? Morrisons by the Zoo, or Fleet Street’s Tesco? Or do you give your custom to smaller outlets? How and where we shop tells us a great d…

On the Churston limestone plateau, in the late Bronze Age/early Iron Age field system on the cliff top at Babbacombe’s Walls Hill, and in earthworks at Warberry Hill, Great Hill and Gallows Gate, …

It's often said that Torquay has a long history of the weird and mysterious. The town was one of the centres of occult practices in the late nineteenth century, and since then has - from Aleister …

Including civilian deaths, the Second World War killed between 50 million and 80 million people. At the end of the war Fascism had been overcome and most thought that the ideology had been destroyed. …

“I've never been to a wedding, where among the gifts the bride will get, Someone will always give her a lucky old horse shoe.” ‘The Lucky Horseshoe - Gerry Guthrie Do you have a horseshoe in you…

"So after dark, you kids be good Stay at home, the way that you should 'Cause right outside, and waitin' there Is the Headless Horseman. Beware! And I'm gettin' out of here". The Headless Horseman,…

“Americans must learn that there is no such place as Devonshire in England. The name of the county is ‘Devon’. If you persist in calling it Devonshire, all American States will become ‘shires’ e.g. Te…

Even in a mostly secular Torbay there are still sacred locations - places that are steeped in history and culture. One is Torquay Town Hall which has changed its uses as our town and nation has ev…

We're putting together a local history talk on the Bay's past nightlife. One part of the talk is on, "What did you drink in Torbay's' pubs and clubs?" Here's some suggestions so far. More are very w…

Here at WASD we've mentioned that, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Torquay had a reputation as being a centre of the Occult - the search for the hidden and unknown. We were p…

March 17 1990 saw the largest demonstration that Torbay had ever seen - 5,000 people from across the Bay gathered on Paignton Green. While this protest was entirely peaceful, a few weeks later vic…

At WASD we like to remember those performers who have visited the Bay. This time it’s Paul Robeson (1898-1976). Paul was an African-American concert singer, recording artist, athlete and actor who…

At WASD we like to remember locals that have made their mark in the world of entertainment. This time it’s C Denier Warren who died in Torquay on August 27 1971 at the age of 82. Born in Chicag…