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...
“Let him that is athirst come.” The ancient holy well of Torquay
In 1867 the vicar of St Saviour's Church in Torre had a drinking fountain constructed just outside his churchyard. He...
“Such beauty!” Torquay’s Italianate Gardens
The Italianate style was a phase in the history of Classical architecture in the nineteenth century. It drew its inspiration...
“And don’t forget to visit the treacle mines!”
Now that we are nearing our tourist season it's important that our visitors don't miss out on the local Treacle...
A deal with the Devil at Daddyhole’s haunted Plain
Not far from Torquay Harbour is Daddyhole Plain, a limestone plateau 75 metres above the sea. Nearby is the natural...
King Cholera: Torquay’s Forgotten Dead
Just off Lucius Street, in the north east corner of the churchyard of the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Andrew,...
“Without bonnets or shawls”: Torquay’s Prostitutes
Back in 1853 the Chief Constable of Torquay's Police, Charles Kilby, complained of the “unbecoming manner that young women of...
