Torquay

See also Torquay, Victoria, in Australia

Torquay [tɔː'ki] is a town on the south coast of England in the county of Devon which has extended along the coast of Torbay to the extent that it is now inextricably intermingled with the neighbouring town of Paignton. In the 19th century it became a fashionable seaside resort, renowned for its healthy climate.

Although it has been suggested that Torquay roughly signifies " Thor's Harbor" (cognate to Tórshavn, Faroe Islands and Þórshöfn, Iceland), a more likely root is the Devonian word Tor, a hill or outcrop, especially common in placenames on nearby Dartmoor.

History of Torquay

Early Torquay

In 1196 Torre Abbey was founded as a Premonstratensian Monastery and flourished under the influence of the White Canons (monks). It remained that way until April 1539 when it suffered the same fate as all other monasteries – surrendering to the ministers of Henry VIII ( Dissolution). It was bought by Sir George Cary in 1662 and remained with the family until 1929 when Colonel Lionel Cary died and it was bought by the Torquay Corporation (now Torbay Council). The Cary family also owned Cockington from as far back as the 14th Century.

After the failed Spanish Armada of 1588, a part of Torre Abbey was used to house 300 Spanish prisoners, this building has now been named the "Spanish Barn" in recognition of this.

Exactly 100 years later, William III (also known as William of Orange) landed at Brixham in Torbay on 5 November 1688 before marching to London, on his way to gaining control of the country in the " Glorious Revolution".

Early 19th century

An early visitor to Torquay in 1794 is recorded as saying “Instead of the poor uncomfortable village we had expected, how great was our surprise at seeing a pretty range of neat new buildings, fitted up for summer visitors.Visitors here can enjoy carriage rides, bathing, retirement and a most romantic situation.”

Torquay owes much to Napoleon. The Napoleonic wars meant that the rich elite could no longer visit abroad and looked for local destinations to visit instead. Torbay, the large bay of which Torquay is founded on the Northern side of, alongside the other towns of Paignton and Brixham (together founding the Unitary Authority of Torbay), is ideal as a large sheltered anchorage for ships and was frequently used by the Channel Fleet which protected England against invasion by Napoleon. Wives and relatives of officers visited Torquay to be near their loved ones in the fleet.

Sometime before 1807 the first “town plans” were drawn up on behalf of Sir Laurence Palk. After a Grand Tour of Europe, Palk brought back from Italy architectural ideas which he incorporated into his villa designs. Several of these original properties still stand among the tree-clad hills, notably Lisburne Crescent and, the grandest of all, Hesketh Crescent, with its sweeping Regency façade.

After Napoleon was captured he was held on the warship HMS Bellerophon, nicknamed "Billy Ruffian", in Torbay for two days before being taken to Plymouth and then to St. Helena. Napoleon also helped the prosperity of Torquay in another way, local smugglers did very good business 'importing' French brandy during the Napoleonic Wars and since then smuggling of one kind or another has not completely stopped.

Admiral Nelson visited the town on the 18th January 1801, at Torre Abbey Mansions and later dined in Cockington, part of Torquay.

The mild winter climate and good air in Torquay attracted many visitors who came for health reasons. During the whole of the 19th century Torquay was considered a health resort where the wealthy would come in winter to recover from illness.

The population of Torquay grew rapidly from 838 in 1801 to 11,474 in 1851. By 1850 there were about 2000 bedrooms in the small hotels of Torquay.

Later 19th century

In the 1840s railway mania hit Torquay. It is difficult for us now to imagine how important railways were to the 19th century. Perhaps the situation was best described by a noted English historian G.M. Trevelyan who wrote: "The railways were England's gift to the world." In fact, a large proportion of the world's trains still roll along tracks manufactured in the last century with the words "Made in Birmingham" stamped on them.

The people of Torquay knew that the railways would bring visitors and prosperity and they wanted the railway to come to their town. Finally, in 1848, the station in Torre (some distance from the sea) was opened and Torquay was connected to the world!

On a Saturday morning in 1852 a town meeting decided to continue the railway down to the sea, to the harbour. The people at the meeting imagined Torquay as an industrial town, importing raw materials through the harbour and transporting finished articles inland. This decision caused great controversy, and in the afternoon of the same day another meeting was held cancelling the decision of the morning and deciding to continue the railway to the sea but not to the harbour. As a result Torquay kept its character as a tourist town and became the place it is today.

The railways also had a great effect on the surrounding towns and countryside. Torquay grew in importance because it a had a railway station but not all towns were so fortunate. Many towns looked on desperately as the trains passed by them without stopping - taking their prosperity with them. These towns died economically. Even the road transport was reduced because so many goods were carried on the new trains.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel was an important figure in the towns history, he built the nearby Atmospheric railway and the rail links to Torquay, and had began buying up large areas of the Watcombe district of Torquay where he had planned to retire in his old age, unfortunantely the great man died an early death and never reached his retirement. [1]

With the town becoming more and more popular it started attracting foreign visitors, The Overmead Hotel was originally called the Villa Syracusa, a private home built for the Russian Romanov family.

While the Romanov family was in residence, they entertained the Russian Royal Family at the Villa. During their absences, the villa was often let privately. In August 1864 the Prince of Wales visited the Grand Duchess Marie of Russia while she was staying at the Villa Syracusa. Her party included the count Gregoire Stroganoff and Countess Alexandra Tolstoy.

The Imperial Hotel also welcomed many famous guests during this period of the town's history such as Emperor Napoleon III, the Queen of the Netherlands and King Edward VII.

In later years Queen Victoria reviewed the entire Royal Navy in the waters of Torbay.

In 1892 two events took place which were to radically change both the appearance and outlook of Torquay. Through trains were introduced and Torquay was granted Borough status. The town was now ready for expansion and to start building a new image. The healthy were encouraged to come as well as the ailing - the Victorian watering place soon became transformed into a holiday resort

Early 20th century

1902 saw the first advertising campaign to bring healthy visitors to Torquay - rather than people recovering from illnesses. Torquay changed in character from being a winter holiday resort to being a summer holiday resort. Rail traffic increased steadily until World War One.

The Royal Family and the Royal Navy once again descended on the town, as King George V reviewed the Home Fleet in the waters of the bay.

World War I

1914

In the early days many volunteers signed on for military service and columns of young men were seen marching through the town following recruiting campaigns. Later, there were harrowing sights of wounded officers and men arriving to convalesce at the Red Cross hospitals. In August 1914, the Red Cross Hospital opened in the Town hall with 50 beds, the first convoy of wounded arriving on 21st October "when a hospital-train arrived at Torre Station with eight British officers and 40 wounded men from France".

The officers went to Stoodley Knowle, owned by Torquay's MP Colonel Burn, but they were greeted by the Hon. Mrs Burn and Miss Burn "who were attired as Red Cross nurses". In addition to Stoodley Knowle, other war hospitals were set up at the Mount (but later moved to Rockwood); the Manor House (Lady Layland Barratt); Lyncourt (Hon. Helen Cubitt) and the "Western Hospital for Consumptives". There was also a home at Royden, described as a "Convalescent Home for Blinded Soldiers and Sailors". Queen Mary visited the Town Hall (and Oldway) in November.

One of the units which was later to be cut to pieces at Gallipoli arrived in the town in December. Some 900 men of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers came from Plymouth. Before they "left for the Front", their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Rooth, handed over the colours to the Mayor for safe-keeping. They did not go to France as expected but to be part of the ill-fated attack against the Turks when many were killed. Recruits for Lord Kitchener's New Army (men of the Royal Army Medical Corps) were also in the town at Christmas.

1915

In September King George V and Queen Mary visited the Town Hall and Stoodley Knowle hospitals where they saw wounded soldiers from the campaigns in France, Flanders and Gallipoli. There were then five hospitals, two of which "flew the Red Cross Flag" (the Town Hall and Rockwood). By this time the Western Hospital had become the "Auxiliary Military Hospital" (with an annex at Underwood).

There were so many casualties that the Torbay Hospital had allocated more than 50 beds for war wounded. The civilian population was also caught up in the struggle for men to serve in France after those, and other, battles. The "Torquay Local Tribunal" was set up under an ex-Service (or other) chairman to hear cases of local men seeking deferment. The grounds had to be good ones and, in the case of those seeking it for health reasons, supported by two doctors. One case before Mr F. J. Crocker in June 1916 warranted the granting of "conditional exemption only". It concerned William Rowe of Ilsham Manor Farm, who sought to delay his registration because he and his two sons "had to deal with 46 cows. The farm had 340 acres of which 200 were arable; 70 were tilled with corn, 25 with roots and five with potatoes, which were of importance". This was just one of many cases heard.

1917

From May onwards wounded soldiers from the New Zealand Expeditionary Force began to arrive and entered a permanent convalescent camp at St. Marychurch, a "Special YMCA" being opened for their use.

1918

The continuing presence of the New Zealanders resulted in the opening of a YMCA in Torquay at Maycliff in St. Luke's Road in April and, a month later, the Kia Toa Club (now the Victorian Arcade) for those awaiting repatriation. The Council gave each serviceman "suitably inscribed views of Torquay"; in all, 22,000 were distributed.

Many sailed home in RMS Ruihine (10,000 tons) which was anchored well out in the Bay. September 1918 saw the serious outbreak of the Spanish Flu which is said to have caused more deaths than there had been on the battlefield. Over 100 US servicemen died at the Oldway Hospital in a fortnight. They were buried in Paignton cemetery but were exhumed later and taken to the USA.

Armistice was declared in November and some weeks later there was excitement at the Harbour when the German submarine U161 arrived while British "water-planes flew in the air [and] descended on to the water" [possibly an early "victory roll"]. These were seaplanes from the base on Beacon Quay which had been there throughout the War, the Coastlines shed being altered for use as a hangar. It was operated by the RNAS with Short 184 seaplanes but became "239 Squadron RAF" after the amalgamation of the RFC and RNAS.

There was a sad final act to Torquay's war experience, on Boxing Day 1918 the Mayor handed back the colours to a Guard from the 1st Dublin Fusiliers, the colours had hung in the Council Chamber for four years, and out of a battalion 1,100 strong that had arrived in Torquay those few years ago, only 40 were now left, it had been decimated at the landing at Suvla Bay. This kinda of horrendous loss of life was repeated throughout many regiments which fought in the Great War and had never been experienced before.

During World War One soldiers were brought to Torquay to recover from their injuries and Oldway Mansion became an American Hospital "The Rotunda", a huge circular ward.

After the Great War an effective advertising campaign by The Great Western Railway Company was responsible for making Torquay a major resort. The busiest day was on August Bank Holiday in 1938, just before the outbreak of World War Two, when 20,000 passengers arrived in Torquay station, followed by 50 trains the next day.

World War II

1939

Although training in "air-raid precautions" started as early as 1935, recruiting only began in earnest in January. Wardens were recruited and every house was visited and between 20,000 and 30,000 civilian gas respirators fitted. In March the Torbay ARP Committee decided to purchase Upton Schools as headquarters for the Torbay Area at a cost of £3,350. Trained volunteers totalled 2,033. There were then on order 2,200 sandbags, 200 suits of clothing, 69,000 respirators and 140 steel helmets "and the Home Office was waiting for an address to sent them to".

On 1st September, two days before War was declared, permanent "Wardens' Posts" were established and sand-bagged. Just eight days later, the first air-raid exercise took place during which a " mustard gas bomb was dropped in St. Marks Road".

Devon (and by extension Torquay) was considered a safe place to send evacuees during World War Two. Stately homes were used as boarding schools for children from the London area.

Within days of the declaration, plans were announced for rationing meat and petrol. The books issued for the latter covered two months but did not say how much each coupon would be worth. Coal and coke rationing was added to the list before the end of the month. An early slogan was: "Walls have ears... The enemy has a spy system. Chance remarks are often dangerous. STOP TALKING". The possibility the enemy might use gas was a real one and the town's Wardens went from house-to-house preparing residents for wearing their respirators. Local inhabitants had two other innovations before the end of the year; in late September the "Food Control Office" opened in the Electric Hall and "Registration Day" was on the 29th. Every inhabitant received a Registration Card with his/her own unique number. There was little or no adverse comment.

Not long after this, in October, the Palace Hotel opened as a convalescent hospital for RAF officers, originally with 48 beds but soon expanded to nearly 250. Until it was bombed in October 1942, many aircrew recovered there, including James Nicholson, the only RAF VC.

1940

In 1940 Wrighton of Walthamstow took over Sansom's garage opposite the Chilcote Memorial. Up to 300 worked there where parts of aircraft (including the Short Sunderland flying-boat) were manufactured. After the Fall of France the invasion of Britain became a real possibility, machine-gun posts and pill-boxes were built (in Torquay the work was done by the East Kents, the Buffs)and naval guns were also placed on Corbyn Head.

In May, Anthony Eden made his historic broadcast appeal asking those men between the ages of 17 and 65 who were not already on War Service to join the 'Local Defence Volunteers, they would be "unpaid but would wear uniforms and be armed". In two days 400 had joined and by Monday the 20th the register had closed with 600 "on the books". In July the name was changed to the Home Guard.

Torquay's major contribution to the war effort was by providing hotels for the RAF in which to train aircrew. No 1 ITW (Initial Training Wing) was formed at Babbacombe in June 1940. Headquarters were at the Norcliffe Hotel, the Sefton, Oswalds, Trecarn, Foxlands and Palermo Hotels being used for sleeping, etc. Postings were made from Babbacombe to Elementary Flying Training Schools (including overseas in Canada and Southern Rhodesia [now Zimbabwe]) where they became pilots, observers, W/T operators and wireless operators/air gunners.

From the first intake of 579 recruits in July 1940, almost a further 27,000 airmen were to trained there before the Wing left Babbacombe. No 3 ITW also came to Torquay in June. Its headquarters were at St. James' Hotel (now Harbour Point). Hotels in Beacon Terrace were requisitioned, together with Park Hall Hotel and the Regina Hotel (which was slightly damaged during a "tip and run raid" in June 1942); the Dorchester and Devonshire Hotels were requisitioned later, from February 1943. St. Vincents' Hotel (now flats) was taken over for use by the WAAF. Some 8,000 trainees passed through before it was disbanded in February 1944.

A third ITW was No 5. which also moved to Torquay in June 1940. Headquarters were in Castle Chambers, later moving to Hotel Metropole (now the Cavendish). A full list of hotels used is not known but they included the Majestic and Stanbury Hotels which were damaged on 30th May 1943 and had to be evacuated. Some 10,000 men completed their training at No 3 ITW. No 13 ITW was formed in Torquay in June 1941 and trained pilots, observers and navigators principally from the Commonwealth and Allied Air Forces. The intakes were smaller and the courses longer, so only about 3,000 passed through the Wing. The Headquarters were in the Belgrave Hotel at first and later at Torre Abbey. The logbook of this Wing records the arrival of the US Forces in Torbay. In January 1944 1,500 troops in transit were fed in relays. In February 1944 when the Wing was about to move to Bridgnorth, first the Rosetor (now the Riviera Centre) was handed over to the US Army, to be followed by the Belgrave shortly after. Another ITW, No 21, was in the town for a brief spell. Numbers trained were small, only about 1,000 but it helped to raise the total number of airmen trained in Torquay to some 49,000.

1941

The first "War Weapons Week" was held and on the first day raised £150,007 towards the half-million it was eventually hoped for. During the early part of the year evacuees came to Torbay from Bristol and Plymouth (during the blitz of both cities). The deteriorating war situation resulted in a survey of railings "available for munitions" (i.e. melting down), their removal started later early the next year.

On 22nd April 1941 Torquay had its first serious raid (at the time of the Plymouth Blitz) when the house of the chief warden in the Warberries was destroyed and two of his children killed. On 4th May there was another when 31 HE (High Explosive) bombs were dropped in Forest Road, the Daison and at Maidencombe.

1942

In March the small vessel, intended as a "block-ship" across Torquay Harbour, was sunk in an air-raid and in May a British Typhoon aircraft crashed-landed on Meadfoot Beach, the pilot being uninjured. However, when a German fighter was shot down on to Tor Abbey Sands and caught fire, its pilot perished because the barbed-wire and other defences on the promenade prevented any rescue attempt being made.

No 39 Air-Sea Rescue unit was based in Torquay Harbour (which is possibly why a blockship was kept ready). Later, in 1944, HSL No 2511 was on station at Torquay; it was almost certainly a 67-ft Thorneycroft vessel designed by Robert Scott-Payne. There was also thought to have been a Sunderland flying-boat based in the Harbour for a short time, a landing platform being moored near Haldon Pier for use by the crew.

Sunday evening, June 7th, was warm and sunny, the beaches and sea front were crowded when four raiders flew in low over the sea and dropped four bombs and were gone nine minutes before the siren sounded. One exploded behind the amusement arcades near the Torbay Hotel; no one was injured here but there were casualties elsewhere.

An air-raid on August Bank Holiday caused considerable damage and casualties; so too did the early evening raid on 4th September. This was the occasion on which properties were destroyed in Tor Hill Road and Rosery Road. The main gasholder at Hollacombe was set on fire, later Mr Denton and Sgt. Richardson (of the Home Guard) were each to receive the George Medal for gallantry.

A major raid on Torquay took place on 25th October. This was the occasion when the Palace Hotel was seriously damaged and many RAF personnel killed. (The empty hotel was damaged again in a second raid just months later). The gasholder at Barton was also set on fire during this attack.

1943

One of the worst tragedies to hit the local population was the "Rogation Sunday" attack which destroyed the Parish Church at St. Marychurch and resulted in the deaths of 21 children. One of the aircraft touched the spire of the RC church nearby and crashed into houses in Teignmouth Road.

Morrison and Anderson shelters were delivered in all the Torbay towns later in the year. Morrison indoor shelters "would be issued free to those employed in an occupation compulsorily insured under the NHI Acts and whose earnings did not exceed £350 p.a. Others could purchase them for £7" (a year later, with D-Day over, the various Councils collected them for use in London which was suffering attacks by "V" weapons"). At the end of 1943 those evacuated from the South Hams Battle Area arrived in the Torbay towns.

1944

The first of the thousands of US Army personnel arrived in Torquay early in the year. Men of the 3204th Quartermaster Service Company were billeted mainly in Chelston and Cockington. Seven GIs were in "Cypress Heights" with Mr DeSuanne; others were at "Greenhaven" and "Combe Martin" with Mr Meadow in Vicarage Road and at small homes in Sherwell Lane, Rathmore Road, Avenue Road, Old Mill Road and Tor Park Road. Another unit was the 618th Ordnance Ammunition Company, 6th Amphibious Engineers, the men being billeted in private homes in St. Marychurch and Upton.

The 257th Ordnance MM Company, attached to the 6th Engineer Special Brigade, arrived in Torquay on 3rd February 1944 "on a very warm winter day". They too went into private homes in St. Marychurch. Little is known about the 31st Chemical Corps, also billeted in Upton and which served in Normandy as part of the 6th Engineer Special Brigade. The concrete "hards" at Beacon Quay had been built for and were used by the embarking troops.

In the build-up to D-day raids on coastal areas were expected. Torbay's took place on Whit Monday, 29th May when some 20 planes are believed to have been in Torbay laying mines; some carried bombs and these were dropped around the Harbour, in Chelston and elsewhere. Nos 4 and 5 Park Crescent were destroyed but the worst affected property was "Bay Court Hotel" where rescuers dug for days for survivors. This was the last recorded raid and the air attacks had resulted in well over 700 "airraid alerts" being sounded in the Bay.

Early in 1944 a "coast ban", from The Wash to Cornwall, had come into force and visitors were only allowed in if possessing appropriate permits. It was lifted in early July soon after the beach-head in Normandy had been established. The GWR announced: "We expect a big rush of holidaymakers to the South West. There are no arrangements for running extra trains". It opened the floodgates: a fortnight later a display board outside Paddington Station reported: "Paddington overcrowded. Please use alternative routes".

1945

Although there were still signs of war and war damage to be repaired, Torquay was "open to visitors" when peace was declared in May.

1945 to present day

Since the war tourist patterns have changed considerably. Many more people have the money to travel abroad for their holidays and nearly everyone has a car. This means that fewer visit British holiday resorts but when they do they do usually travel by car. The British holiday has become a touring holiday with visitors staying only one or two days in each place. The visitor does not bother to book a hotel, but prefers to stay at one of the numerous cheap bed & breakfast establishments instead (b&b's). The Beatles song " Day Tripper" is about this form of holidaymaking.

With its unrivalled Bay, the English Riviera has been famed for its watersports for many a year and in 1948 the watersports events of the Olympic Games were held here. The Olympic flame was brought from London and burned for the duration at Torre Abbey Gardens.

In recent years Torquay has become better known abroad and has received more foreign tourists who usually tour in cars like the British holidaymakers. It is also a major destination for foreign language students, who visit the town for the summer to learn English and see the sights of England.

Torquay was also hoping to be a part of the London 2012 games by being the official warm up venue for the sailing events. The actual events during the Olympics will be held in Weymouth unlike in 1948. However they also missed out on this opportunity and it seems the town will play little part in the Olympics.

Eponymous Royal Navy ships

Throughout its history Torquay and the bay it is situated within has had a number of ships named after it:

• HMS Torbay ( 1693), 80-gun second-rate which participated in the Battle of Vigo Bay, 1702 a naval battle of the coast of Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession.

• HMS Torbay ( 1919), destroyer

• HMS Torbay ( 1940), submarine

• HMS Torquay (F43) ( 10th May 1956 - Scrapped 1987), Whitby Class Frigate Type 12. Torquay participated in the Suez War.

• HMS Torbay (S90) ( February 7, 1987 - Present Day) Trafalgar-class nuclear submarine of the Royal Navy. Laided down December 3, 1982, Launched March 8, 1985 and commissioned February 7, 1987.

Geography

Torquay is situated on the South West coast of England, forming one third of Torbay, and is primarily on the western side of the bay. It has a mild microclimate, and cabbage trees (often erroneously dubbed "Torbay Palms") are a notable feature of the area. They were introduced into the area in 1820 from New Zealand and since then have flourished. There are currently thousands throughout the town.

Torquay is also set along a coastline renowed for its beaches, having no fewer than nine popular beaches. The high standards of water quality and beach facilities mean that many carry coveted awards, including no fewer than three European Blue Flags - more than any other resort in the UK. The nine main beaches of Torquay, a string of nine beautiful beaches and coves stretched out along the palm lined coast, are as follows:

• Maidencombe Beach
• Watcombe Beach
• Oddicombe Beach
• Babbacombe Beach
• Anstey's Cove
• Meadfoot Beach
• Torre Abbey Sands
• Corbyn Sands

Tourist attractions

The town was the birthplace of the crime novelist Agatha Christie, born in Torre in 1890.

Numerous tourist attractions vie for a share of the resort's visitors including Britain's most important Stone Age site, Kents Cavern which was home to early man for some 700,000 years and where tourists can visit this subterranean wonderland. The floor is composed of several strata, with remains indicating the prehistoric coexistence there of humans and now-extinct animals. The Rev. J. McEnery explored (1825–29) the cave and put forth the coexistence theory. The cave was extensively explored from 1865 to 1880 by William Pengelly, who found proof to support McEnery's hypothesis. The Caves have attracted many famous people, among them Agatha Christie, Beatrix Potter, King George V of the United Kingdom and Haile Selassie who was so impressed with his visit that he gave his guide, Leslie Powe a gold sovereign.

Living Coasts, another popular Torquay attraction, is built on Beacon Quay which has existed since 1680. In 1857 the Bath's Saloons complex was built on the promontory overlooking Beacon Cove. This included a ballroom, concert hall and sunlit conservatory and private bathing facilities with, underneath, a large public swimming bath open to the sea. The beautiful stone arches of this public bath can still be seen today and have been cleverly incorporated into the shop at Living Coasts.Development of the site, as a marine animal exhibit was first proposed in the early part of 1999. It was in response to a call from Torbay Borough Council for submissions from interested parties. The project, developed by Kay Elliott architects, included an exhibit to house marine birds, rather than fish, due to the need to avoid duplicating the exhibits at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth. The project was subsequently taken on by Paignton Zoo Environmental Park and named Living Coasts.

Another old favourite of tourists, is the Babbacombe Model Village. Opened in 1963 it has attracted children and adults of all ages for generations and is considered one of the best examples of a model village in England.

Paignton Zoo is situated in the nearby town of Paignton (inextricably intermingled with Torquay), this is a top tourist atrraction and one of the best zoos in the country currently. It has undergone extensive rebuilding in the past decade, marking a movement from the old way of caged animals to displaying animals in exhibits as close to their natural habitat as possible. This renovation has been made possible thanks to investment by the European Regional Development Fund and the zoo itself.

Professional sports

Torquay is represented in the English Coca-Cola Football League Two by Torquay United F.C.. The team plays their home matches at Plainmoor and has spent its entire history in the bottom two leagues of English football. Their most recent season (04/05) resulted in the team being relegated from League One to League Two, a reverse of their fortunes of the previous season.

Torquay in English culture

Torquay is the setting of Fawlty Towers, a famous sitcom made in the 1970s, although it is claimed that location filming for the show was actually done in Cambridge, Berkshire and Bedfordshire. However, in the episode " Gourmet Night", there is film footage of Basil in a shopping area where shopfronts show Torquay addresses and phone numbers.

Torquay was also the hometown of a few famous people such as crime novelist Agatha Christie and comedian Peter Cook. The Singer family also maintained a presence in the area, owning Oldway mansion, midway between Torquay and Paignton.

Additionally, Torquay is the home of the co-presenter of popular Sky Sports One program "Soccer AM" Helen Chamberlain.

Oscar Wilde is said to have written A Woman of No Importance while visiting the area.

Los Angeles radio personality Richard Blade is originally from Torquay.

International erotic entertainment artiste, Layla Jade was born in Torquay in 1980.

Torquay is popular for self catering accommodation and English Riviera Holidays.

Demographics

Population (2001 census)

Demographic	Number Of People
Males	61,773
Females	67,933
Aged 0 to 15	23,321
Aged 16 to 74	90,852
Aged 75 or over	15,533

Marital status (2001 census)

Marital Status	Number Of People
Single (Never Married)	26,880
Married or Re-Married	53,327
Separated or Divorced	14,273
Widowed	11,905

Religion (2001 census)

Religion	Number Of People
Christian	98,820
Buddhist	196
Hindu	66
Jewish	159
Muslim	341
Sikh	50
Other	476
No Religion	19,345
Religion Not Stated	10,253

Employment status (2001 census)

Employment Status	Number Of People
Employed	51,830
Umemployed	3,763
Long Term Unemployed	945
Student (Economically Active)	1,937
Retired	16,321
Student (Economically Inactive)	2,372
Looking After Home/Famiy	5,664
Permenantly sick/diasbled	6,461
Other inactive	2,504

(all people aged 16-74)

All Demographics are for Torbay as a whole, not just Torquay and are taken from the 2001 British Census, information available Here

Social issues in Torquay

Politics

Torquay, as one of the three main towns that Torbay consists of, is run by Torbay Council which has its town hall at the top of the Torquay high street. Currently the Liberal Democrats are the party in power, with David Cameron's Conservative Party in a relatively close second place and Tony Blair's Labour Party a very distant third.

From the 1920s until 1997 Torbay constituency was a safe Tory seat until Adrian Sanders overturned spy novel writer Rupert Allason's majority by just 12 votes, widened to 6,708 in 2001. During the 2005 general election, Conservative leader Michael Howard visited the town to try and gain some support, in a region targeted by the Conservative Party as a key swing vote. However, as in 2001, this was not enough to oveturn the Liberal Democrat majority and Sanders retained the seat with 40.8% of the votes (19,317). Despite a swing of 9.7% away from the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives did not benefit from it with only a 0.1% swing towards them. The Labour Party regained a 5.3% swing towards them (mainly tactical votes for the Lib Dems from 97 and 01 moving back to their natural place) and with UKIP bigwig Graham Booth improving on his deposit-losing 2001 performance with a 4.7% swing towards them.

In 2005, a referendum was held to appoint Torbay's first Elected Mayor. In the ensuing election in October 2005, the winning candidate was a former Liberal Parliamentary Candidate, Nicholas Bye, who won the election as a Conservative.

Education

Torquay is host to many primary and secondary schools of all variations, including private and Catholic based schools.

There are four main secondary schools in the town. One is Torquay Community College, previously known as Audley Park. This school has had its troubles in the past and has in the past two years come out of governmental special measures. Its 2004 exam results are available Here

The other mainstream secondary school in Torquay is Westlands Secondary School and Technology College. This is a combined secondary college and 6th form that takes students of all variations and has recently moved to a brand new modern building. Its 2004 exam results are available Here

The other three state secondary schools of Torquay are more selective than the previous two. They are St Cuthbert Mayne School, a secondary school exclusively available to followers of Roman Catholic and Church of England faiths, and Torquay Boys' Grammar School and Torquay Grammar School for Girls' which are available only to those that pass the 11+ intelligence test and the schools' own standardised test. The 2004 results for St Cuthbert Mayne school are available here, the Boys' Grammar School results here and finally the Girls' Grammar School here. There are also a number of private schools in the area including Studley Knowle School and the Abbey School.

For further education, students can either go to one of the sixth forms at the previous mentioned Westlands, St Cuthbert's Mayne or Grammar schools, or they can go to South Devon College which is based in Long Road in Paignton on a new new campus which became fully open in Jan 2006.

Should students pass through school or college and wish to continue in their education at university, they will have to leave Torquay. Should they wish to continue living in Torquay they have the option of applying to either Exeter or Plymouth universities, each roughly an hour train journey from Torquay train station.

Crime

Offences	Total	Rate per 1,000 population	Average rate per 1,000 population in England & Wales
Violence Against The Person	1,408	11.2	10.9
Sexual Offences	104	0.8	0.7
Robbery Offences	72	0.6	1.5
Burglary Dwelling Offences	1,014	8.0	6.5
Theft Of Motor Vehicle	293	2.3	5.0
Theft From Vehicle	1,352	10.7	10.9

Information taken from 2001/2002 crime figures in Torbay, available Here

Healthcare

Torquay's healthcare needs are seen to by NHS-run Torbay hospital which is situated on the main road out of Torquay and the private, non-emergency Mount Stuart on St Vincents Road.