The mass grave of Torquay’s Cholera Corner
On Torquay’s Lucius Street stands the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Andrew. The church was originally called St. Saviours and...
Nazis, Sex and Satanism at Dartington Hall
Just before the outbreak of the Second World War the notorious occultist - and sometime Torquay resident - Aleister...
Corrie, Brookside and Emmerdale’s Zak in Torquay
If you lived in Wetherfield or Brookside Close and wanted a new start, or maybe just a holiday, where would...
Torquay’s Salvation Army Riots
“The majority in the world are sinners, and are quite against goodness, and I’m afraid it’s the same in Torquay”,...
Farewell to Ryan’s Bar
It looks like Ryan’s Bar is joining the long list of Torquay’s closed pubs – along with the Upton Vale,...
Faith and Belief in Torbay: who we are
In the 2011 Census the people of Torbay – all 130,959 of us – were asked whether we had a...
Torre Abbey’s Spanish Barn 1588: Starvation, Massacre and Ghosts
Torre Abbey’s tithe barn was built around 1200 to store taxes paid to the abbey in the form of grain,...
Evil Gangs in Babbacombe and Skinheads in Torquay
On February 4, 1931 the Torquay Directory told of a 'gang' that had “terrorised the neighbourhood'' of Babbacombe. The same...
‘Catch the Wind’ Jam Night in Torquay’s historic Clipper Inn
As part of Ageing Well a new Jam Night for local acoustic musicians is being launched in Torquay’s historic Clipper...
Torquay in the Movies
How things could have been so different! Torquay was on the way to becoming the British Hollywood. Today we could...
A deal with the Devil at Daddyhole Plain
Not far from Torquay Harbour is Daddyhole Plain, a limestone plateau 75 metres above the sea. Nearby is the natural...
Death in a Torquay Landscape: Gallows Gate
“Executions are intended to draw spectators. If they don’t draw spectators, they don’t answer their purpose”, Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) Death...
What’s in a Torquay name?
Torquay’s history is all around us in names and places. There’s a term used in archaeology – palimpsest. This word...
“Having a rotten time in Torquay”
The English Riviera website assures visitors that “the warmest of welcomes awaits on the English Riviera, South Devon’s Beautiful...
When Torquay’s opium was cheaper than beer
There were more ‘hard drugs’ in Torquay in the nineteenth century than any time before or since. An estimated...
Torre’s mysterious Chapel in the woods
For the first time in decades it’s possible to glimpse the medieval St Michael’s Chapel. It’s along the side...
“Loose women without bonnets or shawls”: Torquay’s Prostitutes
Torquay has always had its ‘Ladies of the Night’, prostitution often being the final resort of desperate women in the...
Witches & the Unquiet Dead: Torquay’s Occult Heritage
Torquay was once the richest town in England. We had a large number of very wealthy and educated residents and...
The Crystal Skull of Doom turns up in Torquay
Here at WASD we love the weird side of the Bay. One of these odd stories concerns an ancient South...
“Votes for Women”: Torquay’s Suffragettes
Annie Kenney and Christabel Pankhurst It wasn't until 1928 that women claimed the right to vote, and the women...
