Torquay Waterfront a Short Heritage Walk
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Company Tourism Riviera English of courtesy Image Torquay waterfront A short heritage walk Start at Torquay Railway Station. When the railway line was constructed it originally terminated at Torre Station (then called Torquay) which opened in December 1848. The line to Paignton opened eleven years later on 1 August 1859. The original station was described in some quarters as “a third rate station not worthy of the resort” and was rebuilt in 1878. Head for the sea front and, with the bay on your right, amble towards the harbour. On your left you’ll have a view of Torre Abbey, founded in 1196 and later home to the Cary family. The Spanish Barn was built in the early thirteenth century, but picked up its name after it was used to house prisoners from the Spanish Armada. One of the prisoners was the fiancée of one of the crew, who disguised herself as a sailor. Incarcerated with the other 396 prisoners, she died in the squalid conditions, and the ghost of The Spanish Lady supposedly roams the grounds to this day. You can also look out to sea and visualise some of the important maritime events that the people of Torquay would have seen from here at various points in the town’s long history. From Napoleon’s arrival in the bay in 1815 as a prisoner aboard HMS Bellerophon, to the presence in July 1910 of the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Home Fleets, which were in Torbay to be reviewed by King George V after the location was changed from Penzance due to bad weather. Claude Graeme White, one of the first qualified pilots in Britain, intended flying over the fleets while they were at Penzance, but when the location was changed he put his plane on a train to Torquay. He was therefore able to fly as intended over the assembled 37 battleships and 27 cruisers. It was quickly realised by the authorities that, had he been an enemy combatant, he could easily have dropped bombs on the fleets, especially as none of the ships’ guns could be raised high enough to defend themselves. Within two years King George V had signed a Royal warrant establishing the Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the Royal Air Force. The Abbey Sands development As you follow the curve of Torbay Road in the direction of the harbour, look across the street, beyond the new Torre Abbey Sands development (this replaced the Palm Court Hotel which had been derelict for some years before being destroyed by fire in 2010). There you will see a short terrace of period buildings. Next to them is a small stone structure originally called The Cottage. From 1842 to 1876 it was the Toll House for the main road. It then became known as Dyer’s Cottage, as it was the residence of the town gardener John Batt Dyer who looked after Rock Walk, the cliff‐hugging gardens that still exist to this day, and the Pavilion gardens. The building of Torbay Road was begun in September 1840. It was finished in eighteen months and was first called the New Road and then known as Station Road when the railway station was built. Because so much money had been spent on approaches to Torquay, it became necessary to establish a Toll House, which was the first building to be put up between Marina House and Torre Abbey. In October 1848 the “full toll for all carriages drawn by an horse or other beast having no more than three wheels was sixpence.” Keep walking along Torbay Road. Just past the Pier Point Restaurant you will come to the Princess Theatre, which opened its doors on Wednesday 7 June 1961. The Princess Theatre Top of the bill for the first performance were Tommy Cooper and Morecambe and Wise. On 18 August 1963 The Beatles played their only gig in Torquay at the Princess. As you pass the theatre you will see a series of gardens on your right. These were built on land that was reclaimed as part of a scheme to create a sheltered outer harbour for Torquay by building new stone pier. The foundation stone of this pier was laid on 5 May 1890 by Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria, and the gardens themselves were named Princess Gardens in her honour. These were the first public gardens in Torquay laid out by the municipal authority. As you continue along Torbay Road, you will see the Grade II listed Torquay Pavilion at the eastern end of the gardens. It was completed in 1911 by HA Garrett, Borough Surveyor, and was based on designs by architect Edward Richards. Like the gardens, it was built on reclaimed land and constructed upon a concrete raft. The building is clad externally with Doulton's carrera‐ware tiles with a cream and green glaze finish, and its Art Nouveau ironwork is particularly fine. The Pavilion Turn right from Torbay Road at the roundabout and onto Vaughan Road, which runs past the main entrance to the Pavilion towards the harbourside. This picturesque harbour is the focus of the town and when it was built it was a symbol of Torquay’s development as a resort. This growth in popularity was in many ways due to the Revolutionary and then the Napoleonic wars, which made travel to continental Europe impossible. With the Royal Navy using the bay as an anchorage, this also attracted the wives and families of the officers to the area, further enhancing its reputation. Torquay's development as a resort was pioneered by, among others, Sir Lawrence Palk, 2nd Baronet, and owner of the manor of Tormohun. His efforts led to the construction of the harbour you see before you. It replaced the old harbour which had fallen into disrepair. An Act of Parliament was required for such a development and the work was completed in 1807. The harbour was designed by John Rennie, who went on to design London Bridge. Turn left when you get to the harbour side and walk past a row of graceful Georgian terraces, and then turn right just past the slipway, following Cary Parade round towards the clock tower. The Clock Tower The correct name of the Clock Tower on the Strand is the Mallock Memorial Clock, erected in 1902 by the friends and former constituents of ex‐M.P. Richard Mallock, who died on a cycling holiday near St Andrews, Scotland, on 29 June 1900. It is hard to believe as you look at the fine period architecture, and imagine the grand villas of the Victorian wealthy set high in the hills overlooking the town, that barely a stone’s throw away the poor of Torquay lived in abject poverty during the 18th and 19th centuries. George Street and Swan Street – now behind the main shopping street and mostly demolished – were where many of these people lived in terrible conditions. In 1846 the potato crop failed; there was a poor harvest and the price of bread rose significantly. While the wealthy barely noticed the rise, the poor suffered a great deal. At 7.30 pm on 17 May, a crowd assembled in Lower Union Street and began to loot bakers’ shops and flour stores. Women were seen carrying off the spoils in their aprons. After flooding down Fleet Street, the crowd was finally challenged by a posse of tradesmen headed by two magistrates. During the ensuing violent confrontation the Riot Act was read out, and any rioters who were taken prisoner were subsequently locked up in the Town Hall. The following day a party of navvies who were working on the railway marched to the Town Hall to free their comrades who had been arrested. But after the arrival of armed Coastguards and soldiers of the 5th Fusiliers, order was restored. Another – and far more violent – riot occurred in 1867, necessitating a second reading of the Riot Act. For a town the size of Torquay to have the Riot Act read twice was extremely unusual. Turn right as you approach the clock tower and follow the harbour round. From this side of the harbour, you can fully appreciate the geography of the town, with the numerous hills that give it its distinct character. Torquay was heavily involved in both World Wars, and you might want to imagine the excitement of the crowds that gathered around the harbour some weeks after Armistice Day 1918. The German submarine, U‐161, had surrendered and now arrived off Torquay. It was accompanied by British seaplanes from the base on Beacon Quay, which is not far from where you now stand. It was operated by the RNAS with Short 184 seaplanes, later becoming No. 239 Squadron RAF. On Boxing Day 1918 Torquay’s mayor Hugh Cumming returned the regimental colours of the 1st Dublin Fusiliers. The colours had been hung in the Council Chamber for safe keeping when the regiment left Torquay in January 1915. Out of a battalion 1,100 strong that had arrived here at the beginning of the war only 40 were left, the regiment having suffered heavy losses in particular during the Gallipoli campaign. You walk is now finished. You may wish to continue down Victoria Parade and turn left on to Beacon Hill, where you will find the Living Coasts Experience, built on the site of the Marine Spa swimming pool and then Coral Island leisure complex; or you may continue to explore the vibrant harbour‐side and its shops, restaurants and cafes. Further research on local history Torre Abbey, TQ2 5JE 01803 293593 www.torre‐abbey.org.uk Since its foundation in 1196, Torre Abbey has witnessed, survived and even played a role in some epic moments of history.