Many towns have an origin myth- a story that tells of how their community began.The origin myth of Torquay was that our small rural communities were transformed by the families of Royal Navy officers …
Author Julia Joyce has just published an E book, Five Devonshire Murderesses. It covers the stories of five women who went to trial in Exeter in the 1860s, and who were all incarcerated in Exeter Pris…
In February 1688 the famous diarist and MP Samuel Pepys predicted that England would soon attack France. He wrote, "Everybody doth think a Warr will follow". The cause of the looming hostilities was …
Are you the next king or queen of crime?You’ve got less than 10 days to enter the International Agatha Christie Festival mystery short story competition for children and young people between 8 and 18…
For over a thousand years the folk of Torbay feared the sea and what it might bring- invaders, raiders, slavers and pirates.And come they did, though not at first by sea. The Anglo-Saxons took 300 yea…
"My son John was tall and slim,And he had a leg for every limb. But now he’s got no legs at all,For he ran a race with a cannon ball" For centuries Torbay was plagued by pirates fro…
Back in the fifteenth century, Brixham had an extremely valuable role in the international 'tourist trade'.This was our part in the medieval tradition of pilgrimages to holy places.The objective of th…
Between Brixham and Kingswear is the wonderfully-named tiny hamlet of Boohay. This just means the 'curved way or track'What we're really interested in here is Boohay's original name, and specifically …
Tormohun; Morgan; Lymington; Vansittart; Cary; Palk; Lucius; Bampfylde; Falkland. Let's pull together some of those names of the roads around Tor, along with their origin. First, the odd appella…
In 1800 Torquay had a population of only 800. Before the arrival of Royal Navy officers and their families, the consumptives seeking a cure, and the Victorian tourist, Torquay consisted of a sca…
"If you wake at midnight to the sound of horses' feet, Don't go drawin' back the blinds nor lookin' in the street.Them that asks no questions, isn't told a lie.Now watch the wall my darling while th…
This is the tale of how a novel from a Torquay writer was turned into an opera by one of the world's most famous composers; and how it ended up in Hitler's Berlin Bunker as the Russians closed in.…
Does your Torbay home have a name or a number, or perhaps both? These days all urban houses have a number, while the majority do not have names. But names can be important. We can sometimes work ou…
"Upward he shoots By the springs on his boots, Like an inverted angel. When things go black Appears Old Spring Heeled Jack " In July 1847 there was an "extraordinary case" of sexual assault which "gre…