Torbay in the ‘Dark Ages’
Between Brixham and Kingswear is the wonderfully-named tiny hamlet of Boohay. This just means the 'curved way or track'What we're...
Tormohun; Lymington; Vansittart; Lucius; Bampfylde; and others…
Tormohun; Morgan; Lymington; Vansittart; Cary; Palk; Lucius; Bampfylde; Falkland. Let's pull together some of those names of the roads around...
Torquay’s Old Ways fade away…
In 1800 Torquay had a population of only 800. Before the arrival of Royal Navy officers and their families,...
The Realm of the Torbay Smuggler
"If you wake at midnight to the sound of horses' feet, Don't go drawin' back the blinds nor lookin' in...
Rienzi; from Torquay to Hitler’s Fuhrerbunker
This is the tale of how a novel from a Torquay writer was turned into an opera by one of...
Some Torbay House Names
Does your Torbay home have a name or a number, or perhaps both? These days all urban houses have a...
Fear the steel claws of Spring Heeled Jack
"Upward he shoots By the springs on his boots, Like an inverted angel. When things go black Appears Old Spring...
Danny Dyer’s Torbay Relatives?
We recently posted an article on how many slaves there were in Anglo-Saxon Torbay. A couple of posters asked how...
Study for a History Degree at South Devon College
In the light of COVID-19 many people are looking to do something new, local and accessible which does not incur...
Torbay’s Slaves
A thousand years ago there were around a hundred slaves in Torbay- and probably many more. We know this from...
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 England's...
Spreading creativity in Torquay
People in Chelston, Torquay have been making mini willow sculptures to decorate their gardens during lockdown. The idea began when...
Charles Dickens in Torbay
"Torquay is a pretty place... a mixture of Hastings and Tunbridge Wells and little bits of the hills about Naples",...
What’s in a Torquay name?
The study of the origin of words - or etymology- isn't an exact science.Some Torquay names are obscure but fairly...
The South Devon Cunning Folk
Before the coming of the National Health Service and a modern police force, who would you go to if you...
A Berry Pomeroy Timeslip Ghost
Following our theme of weird South Devon, here's a local incident that fits in to that most rare of paranormal...
Hunting England’s Queen
In 1644 the English Navy was in Torbay hunting down England's Queen. This was Henrietta Maria of France, queen consort...
The Stench and Perfume of Olde Torquay
When we look at a picture of Victorian Torquay there's one thing that we can't really see. That's what the...
The Wreck of the U-269
During lockdown the 1981 West German war film Das Boot has been regularly on TV. It's the fictionalised story of...
The Press Gang in Torbay
During the wars against Napoleon the villagers of Torbay could be forced into joining the Royal Navy.It wasn't always so.While...
