Above the natural arch of London Bridge is the limestone plateau of Daddyhole Plain. Unlike London Bridge, which was named probably in the mid eighteenth century, the name Daddyhole is far more an…

Torquay grew rapidly during the nineteenth century: in 1801 there were 838 persons; by 1851, 11,474; and by 1901 it was 33,625 - though this now included St Marychurch and Cockington. Alongside this g…

In 1858 a terrorist attack in Paris caused a reaction in Torquay. On January 14th, 1858 the French Emperor Napoleon III was attacked in his capital by a gang of assassins who hurled three small bombs…

By Margaret Forbes-Hamilton & Kevin Dixon Just off Torquay’s Lucius Street stands the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Andrew. The church is on the site of one of the oldest settlements of what …

While it was the visiting wives and relatives of naval officers that initiated Torquay as a tourist town, it was the Napoleonic wars that really led to the town’s rapid growth. The rich, denied th…

This is the story of Saul, one of those Torquay characters that we seem to have so many of. You’ve probably seen him yourself as he was one of those guys that like to hang around Castle Circus. He w…

In 1954 the author Nancy Mitford wrote an essay, ‘The English Aristocracy’ for the magazine Encounter. She provided a list of terms used by the upper classes which caused a national debate about E…

A railway station serving Torquay was opened on 18 December 1848, but this station was far from the harbour at the centre of town. This wouldn’t do and a new station near Abbey Sands was opened on…

On September 18, 1961, Torquay was the proud host of the Second European Postal and Telecommunications (CEPT) Conference. Fair enough, this doesn't sound too exciting or, let's face it, even remot…

Here in Torquay we like to think of ourselves as being welcoming to tourists. However, this wasn’t always so. For example, back in September 1926 two local men stood trial for inflicting serious b…

Here at WASD we like to remember Torquay folk who have made their mark on the world. This time it’s the science fiction pioneer and St Marychurch resident Edward Douglas Fawcett (1866-1960). Al…

“Deep night, dark night, the silence of the night, spirits walk, and ghosts break up their graves”, William Shakespeare Night-time Torquay is another Torquay. Late at night, despite the electric li…