On 31 July 1888 the Western Times reported on a fete at Cockington Court held to support the local Conservative Party. The fete didn't go well: "Once a year the Tories of the Division hold a fete…
In April 1599 Hortensis Spinola, an Italian spy working for Spain, was preparing the ground for another invasion of England. After describing Dartmouth as "a large port of 600 vessels", he was look…
As part of 'Create to Recover' local artist Fred Gray Fred was awarded a grant to paint a series of studies of the buildings of Chelston. They ranged from the "Belle Epoque to Terraced Housing". All…
The police recently raided a Torquay house and found cannabis plants to the value of £12,000 growing in two bedrooms. They also found over £2,000 in cash, phones, scales, heaters and a small amount …
'What Next? Torbay' brings together people working in arts, culture and heritage across Torquay, Paignton, Brixham and the surrounding areas. Our conversations are supportive, generous and democrati…
On August 5, 1920, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave a lecture at Torquay Town Hall. Here was a literary celebrity who had created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for 'A Study in Scarlet', the firs…
So when did Torbay become Christian?We know that the first recorded inhabitants of Torbay were a Celtic people who inhabited Dumnonia, which is now known as Devon and Cornwall, along with parts of p…
Is Torre Abbey a monastery? Did it have monks or canons and is there a difference? First some Devon history. The earliest Saxon churches were modest wooden structures and many now lie under the st…
The Speakeasy Cinema is screening the 1964 film The System in The Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey on Thursday 19 August. Starring Oliver Reed and Jane Merrow and filmed on location across Torbay, ticket…
'The Hole in the Wall' is promoted as, "the oldest pub in Torquay". The marketing continues, "This historic tavern has been serving the likes of smugglers, men-of-the-sea and business men since…
When we think of a Torquay stream the usual contenders are the Shire Brook which feeds into the King's Pond and, of course, the River Fleet, marked by Fleet Street which flows to the west side of…
Plans have just been submitted to convert the old Torquay Magistrates’ Court into ten residential apartments. Pre-Lockdown, there was a proposal to turn the building into a GP Surgery but that didn'…
In 1724 Daniel Defoe wrote of Torbay: "In the Bottom of this Bay is a beautiful, well-built, and finely-situated House, call'd Torr-Abbey, formerly a Religious House; but now the Inheritanc…
Back in July of 1947 the Spectator Magazine’s James Pope Hennessy spent three days in Torquay… and he didn’t like it. Bear in mind that this was shortly after the end of the War; and that James seem…