28 Facts About Torquay

Torquay is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay.

Roman soldiers are known to have visited Torquay during the period when Britain was a part of the Roman Empire, leaving offerings at a curious rock formation in Kents Cavern, known as "The Face".

Torquay remained a minor settlement until the Napoleonic wars, when Torbay was used as a sheltered anchorage by the Channel Fleet, and relatives of officers often visited Torquay.

Second phase in the expansion of Torquay began when Torre railway station was opened on 18 December 1848.

Torquay was regarded as a "Spa Town" after the Marine Spa was built on Beacon Hill near the harbour.

Related searches

The last air raid on Torquay took place on 29 May 1944, shortly before the D-Day landings in June and, in the months leading up to D-Day, thousands of US Army personnel arrived with the 3204th Quartermaster Service Company billeted in Chelston and Cockington.

Torquay boasted rehabilitation facilities for the blind at America Lodge, which was owned by the RNIB for a number of decades.

Areas around Torquay have been affected by either refurbishments or closure.

In 2013, the Torquay Pavilion was closed after a loss in funding and attempts to reopen it under new funding are ongoing.

Torquay is in the Torbay parliamentary constituency, created in 1974; previous to that, it was in its own eponymous constituency.

Torquay is situated on the southwestern coast of England, forming one-third of Torbay, on the western side of the bay.

Main beaches of Torquay are Oddicombe Beach, Meadfoot Beach, Maidencombe, Watcombe, Babbacombe Beach, Anstey's Cove, Redgate, Torre Abbey Sands, Corbyn Sands and Institute Beach and Hollacombe Beach.

Sticklepath fault line, which runs across Devon from Bideford Bay to Torquay, is one of many geological faults criss-crossing Torbay; the Babbacombe Cliff Railway takes advantage of one of these fault lines.

Torquay is connected to the UK motorway network by the A380, which traces the outskirts of the town as Hellevoetsluis Way and Hamelin Way, leading to the A38 and the M5 at Exeter.

Torquay has about 60 churches from a wide variety of Christian denominations.

The 19th-century Anglican churches of Torquay include All Saints, Bamfylde Road, St John's, Montpelier Terrace, St Luke's, St Mark's, St Mark's Road, St Mary Magdalene, Union Street, and St Michael, Pimlico .

Two Roman Catholic churches, both built in the 19th century and are listed buildings, in Torquay are the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Our Lady Help of Christians and St Denis Church.

Torquay was the home of Suttons Seeds until it relocated to the neighbouring town of Paignton in 1998, and Beverage Brands, the owners of the popular and controversial alcoholic brand WKD, was based in the town until 2011.

From 1875, number of potteries operated in Torquay, making Torquay pottery for both the tourist trade and high-end retail.

Recently, Devon Films, based in Torquay, has established itself as the Bay's latest film production company.

Torquay financed and produced Stepdad in 2007, starring Ricky Tomlinson and Chris Bisson among others; it was entered into the Cannes Film Festival.

Torquay has a long history of holding sailing events and regattas due to the favourable easterly facing nature of the bay and its popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries; this tradition reached its height in 1948 when the water sport events of the 1948 Summer Olympics were held in Torquay, with the Olympic flame being transferred from London to Torre Abbey Gardens to reside throughout the event.

Torquay is represented in Association Football in the National League by Torquay United F C The team plays their home matches at Plainmoor and have never progressed beyond the third tier of the English leagues.

Torquay United were promoted from the Conference Premier after winning the play-off final at Wembley in June 2009.

Torquay were relegated previously in 2007 from the Football League after 80 years of membership and spent two years playing in the Conference Premier; this downfall came just three years after promotion from the league's basement division and ultimately led to a change in ownership of the club to a consortium of local businessmen and fans.

Related searches

Torquay has a number of primary schools, including St Margaret's Primary School in St Marychurch which has around 329 pupils and is situated on a large site of over 1800 square metres which was formerly a farm.

Torquay has two hospitals, the NHS-run Torbay Hospital which is situated on Newton Road, Shiphay and the private, non-emergency Mount Stuart Hospital run by Ramsay Health Care UK on St Vincent's Road, Torre.

Victorian mansion in Torquay where Agatha Christie was born and grew up, Ashfield in Barton Road, was demolished in 1961, to build an estate and extension for South Devon College.