Torquay and the world’s greatest kidnapping
This is about Torquay’s role in the world’s most famous kidnapping and an extortionate ransom demand. It all began with...
Asset Stripping Torquay: From an English church to a Pittsburgh Museum
This is the story of how two gigantic Torquay paintings ended up in Pittsburgh Museum with the assistance of...
Edwin goes to Newton Abbot and doesn’t come back
We all know that some strange things can happen to Torquay folk if they travel too far up the Newton...
Buffalo Bill fights Custer’s Last Stand at Torquay’s Asda
In 1904 the Wild West came to Torquay. William F Cody (1846-1917) was better known as Buffalo Bill. He pioneered...
Carers are invited to ‘The Great Torquay Saturday Night Out’, at Paignton Library, Monday 5th of June 2:00-3:30
‘The Great Torquay Saturday Night Out’ is one of the free events for people who care for a family member...
Torquay’s Dance of Death: the Memento Mori
Just off Torquay’s Lucius Street is the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Andrew. It was at the heart of the...
The Rich, the Poor and the very Drunk: Aunt Belle visits Victorian Torquay
"I have seen more luxury since being in Torquay than in all my previous life, and I know I never...
Torre Abbey: Succession, Kidnap and Murder
If you want a bit of peace an tranquillity amongst the bustle of Torquay, Torre Abbey is that place. A...
The Bloody Code: Sheep strangles dimwitted Torquay criminal
There’s an old story that tells of how a sheep hanged a local thief.You can read all about the supposed...
The Torquay Gibbet
Torquay’s site for public executions was Gallows Gate. Our town’s place of terminal justice is just by the roundabout at...
1667: Torre Abbey saves Torquay
In 1667 Torquay was attacked by two Dutch warships. We know this from a letter dated 19 July 1667 which...
“Moral pollution needs a solution”: Torquay’s 1970s Culture Wars
There have always been culture wars. These are conflicts between groups and individuals as they struggle for dominance, or to...
Monty Python’s Life of Brian – blasphemy in Torbay
This is the story of how one of Britain’s best movies was inadvertently banned in Torquay for almost three decades....
Torquay, “An imposter, a delusion and a snare”
In 1897 Annie Cann visited Torquay and wrote in her diary, "We walked along the promenade to the town. We...
Fascists, Sex, Satanism and Dartington Hall
Just before the outbreak of the Second World War the notorious occultist – and sometime Torquay resident – Aleister Crowley...
The Pirates of Torbay
For fifteen hundred years, Torbay was plagued by pirates and sea raiders. One of the reasons why our original communities...
The Mysterious St Michael’s Chapel: love, loyalty, fair weather, and the Hermit’s Ghost
The Chapel GhostSt Michael’s Chapel is a mystery. We don’t know its real name, who built it, when they built...
Torquay’s Mysterious St Michael’s Chapel 1: Location, devotion, war, and the tunnel
Hewn from local limestone and sandstone, secured to the crest of a lonely outcrop, St Michael’s Chapel has overseen and...
Was Torquay built on seven hills?
The English Riviera website comments that Torquay’s “famous seven hills provide the backdrop to a waterfront scene that matches anything...
Mock Torquay: The Gallic and the Gothic
In a five-minute drive around Torquay you will pass Victorian and Edwardian buildings that encompass a variety of architectural...
