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…

  On October 8th 1834 the darkness was banished from Torquay. Forty gas lamps were installed in our main thoroughfares – two years later the street lighting was extended from Castle Circus…

“I resent Mrs Langtry, she has no right to be intelligent, daring and independent, as well as lovely”, Torquay resident George Bernard Shaw   Oscar Wilde said, "I would rather have discov…

  In 1973 Trevor Ravenscroft (pictured), who would later live in Torquay, wrote a book called ‘The Spear of Destiny’. This book became recognised by some as a classic of Holy Grail and Nazi oc…

Continuing our WASD theme of South Devon’s weird landscape, let’s turn our attention to our haunted coastal route - the current A379 Teignmouth Road. The historian Theo Brown remembers her father …