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Torquay
Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay and across from the fishing port of Brixham. In 2011 the built-up area of Torquay had a population of 65,245. The town's economy, like Brixham's, was initially based upon fishing and agriculture; however, in the early 19th century, it began to develop into a fashionable seaside resort. Later, as the town's fame spread, it was popular with Victorian society. Renowned for its mild climate (at least for England), the town earned the nickname the English Riviera. The writer Agatha Christie was born in the town and lived at Ashfield in Torquay during her early years. There is an "Agatha Christie Mile", a tour with plaques dedicated to her life and work. The poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning lived in the town from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torbay
Torbay is a unitary authority with a borough status in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. It is governed by Torbay Council, based in the town of Torquay, and also includes the towns of Paignton and Brixham. The borough consists of of land around the east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme Bay on the English Channel. (Word document) A popular tourist destination, Torbay's sandy beaches, mild climate and recreational and leisure attractions have given rise to its nickname of the ''English Riviera''. The neighbouring districts are South Hams and Teignbridge. History Human bones and tools found in Kents Cavern in Torquay show that people have inhabited the Torbay area since Paleolithic times. A maxilla fragment known as Kents Cavern 4 may be the oldest example of a modern human in Europe, dating back to 37,000–40,000 years ago. Roman soldiers are known to have visited Torquay during the period when Britannia formed a part of the Roman Empire; they left offeri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paignton
Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority, borough of Torbay which was created in 1968. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton has origins as a Celtic settlement and was first mentioned in 1086. It grew as a small fishing village and a new harbour was built in 1847. A railway line was opened to passengers in 1859 creating links to Torquay and London. As its population increased, it merged with the villages of Goodrington and Preston, Devon, Preston. Paignton is around north east of Plymouth and south of Exeter. History A Roman burial was discovered in 1993 on the Hookhills estate by a householder digging a patio. At first thought to be Neolithic, it was later radiocarbon dated to be between 230 and 390 CE. The burial is of a young woman aged between 15 and 25 years. The burial included oysters and her teeth and bone reveal a diet rich i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery ''The Mousetrap'', which has been performed in the West End theatre, West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime"—a nickname now trademarked by her estate—or the "Queen of Mystery". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. She is the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies. Christie was born into a wealthy upper-middle-class family in Torquay, Devon, and was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kents Cavern
Kents Cavern is a cave system in Torquay, Devon, England. It is notable both for its archaeological and geological features (as a karst feature in the Devonian limestone). The cave system is open to the public and has been a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1952 and a Scheduled Ancient Monument since 1957. Prehistory The caverns and passages were formed in the early Pleistocene period in Devonian limestone by water action and have been occupied by one of at least eight separate, discontinuous native populations to have inhabited the British Isles. The other key paleolithic sites in the UK are Happisburgh, Pakefield, Boxgrove, Swanscombe, Pontnewydd, Paviland, Creswell Crags and Gough's Cave. Neanderthal occupation Mousterian stone tools found in the cavern during excavations in the 19th century indicate that the cave was occupied by Neanderthals during the late Middle Paleolithic (likely sometime roughly around 60-40,000 years ago). Most of these artifa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west. The city of Plymouth is the largest settlement, and the city of Exeter is the county town. The county has an area of and a population of 1,194,166. The largest settlements after Plymouth (264,695) are the city of Exeter (130,709) and the Seaside resort, seaside resorts of Torquay and Paignton, which have a combined population of 115,410. They all are located along the south coast, which is the most populous part of the county; Barnstaple (31,275) and Tiverton, Devon, Tiverton (22,291) are the largest towns in the north and centre respectively. For local government purposes Devon comprises a non-metropolitan county, with eight districts, and the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of Plymouth City Council, Plymouth an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torre Abbey
Torre Abbey is a historic building and art gallery in Torquay, Devon, which lies in the South West of England. It was founded in 1196 as a monastery for Premonstratensian canons, and is now the best-preserved medieval monastery in Devon and Cornwall. In addition to its medieval and Georgian rooms, Torre Abbey is known for the formal gardens on Abbey Park and Meadows, for the third largest art collection in the county of Devon and for regular exhibitions by contemporary artists. History In 1196 six Premonstratensian canons from the Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire founded Torre Abbey when William Brewer, lord of the manor of Torre, gave them land. By 1536 the Abbey's annual income made it the wealthiest of all the Premonstratensian houses in England. The canons surrendered to King Henry VIII's commissioner in 1539 at the Dissolution of the Monasteries and immediately thereafter in 1539 a 21-year lease of the site and demesne of Torre Abbey was acquired by Sir Hugh I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashfield, Torquay
Ashfield in Torquay, Devon was the childhood home of Agatha Christie. She lived there from her birth until the time of her marriage, and intermittently thereafter. She reluctantly sold it in 1940; in 1962 it was demolished and replaced with a small estate of houses. A blue plaque marks the top left corner of the two-acre property which was Ashfield. Christie loved this house, and even in old age remembered it fondly. In her autobiography, she stated: I remember, I remember the house where I was born. I go back to that always in my mind. Ashfield. How much that means. When I dream I hardly ever dream of Greenway or Winterbrook. It is always Ashfield, the old familiar setting where one’s life first functioned… How well I know every detail there: the frayed red curtain leading to the kitchen, the sunflower brass fender in the hall grate, the Turkey carpet on the stairs, the big shabby schoolroom with its dark blue and gold embossed wallpaper. Ashfield and the Miller family T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brixham
Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish in the borough of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. As of the 2021 census, Brixham had a population of 16,825. It is one of the main three centres of the borough, along with Paignton and Torquay. It is believed that the name Brixham originates from the personal name of an early resident, Brioc, followed by the Old English suffix, ''ham'' meaning home. The town, which is predominantly hilly, is built around a natural harbour, which in addition to leisure craft, provides anchorage for what is now one of England's (but not the UK's) largest remaining commercial fishing fleets. A conspicuous local tourist attraction is the permanently moored replica of Francis Drake, Sir Francis Drake's ship ''Golden Hind''. Historically Brixham was made up of two separate communities connected only by a marshy lane. In Fishtown, in the immediate vicinity of the harbour, as the name suggests, the residents made a living mainly fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tor Bay
Tor Bay (sometimes written as Torbay) is a bay on the south-east coast of the county of Devon, England. Facing east into the English Channel, it is about wide from north to south. The settlements of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, which lie along its coastline, are known collectively as Torbay. Geology Tor Bay is bounded by outcrops of Devonian limestone forming its northern limit at Hope's Nose and its southern at Berry Head. The geology of the area is varied and complex, recognised by the 2007 designation of the English Riviera Geopark which includes all of Tor Bay's coastline. During the last glacial period, when sea level was much lower, Tor Bay was dry land, as is shown by the existence of a submerged forest in the bay. It was overwhelmed during the Flandrian interglacial, Flandrian transgression which started about 10,000 years ago. History Because it is sheltered from the prevailing south-westerly winds, Tor Bay has long been one of the safest refuges for shipping betw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torbay (UK Parliament Constituency)
Torbay is a constituency in Devon represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Steve Darling, a Liberal Democrat. He defeated Kevin Foster of the Conservative Party, who had held the seat since 2015. Boundaries 1974–1983: The County Borough of Torbay. 1983–2010: The Borough of Torbay wards of Cockington with Chelston, Coverdale, Ellacombe, Preston, St Marychurch, St Michael's with Goodrington, Shiphay, Tormohun, and Torwood. 2010–2024: The Borough of Torbay wards of Clifton with Maidenway, Cockington with Chelston, Ellacombe, Goodrington with Roselands, Preston, Roundham with Hyde, St Marychurch, Shiphay with the Willows, Tormohun, Watcombe, and Wellswood. 2024–present: The Borough of Torbay wards of: Barton with Watcombe; Clifton with Maidenway; Cockington with Chelston; Ellacombe; Goodrington with Roselands; Preston; Roundham with Hyde; St. Marychurch; Shiphay; Tormohun; Wellswood. ''Minor changes following re-organisation of local auth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kents Cavern 4
The Kents Cavern 4 maxilla is a human fossil consisting of a right canine, third premolar, and first molar as well as the bone holding them together including a small piece of palate. The fossil was found in 1927 at Kents Cavern, a limestone cave in Torquay, Devon, England. The maxilla was uncovered at a depth of and was located directly beneath a key ‘granular stalagmite’ at the site, which was used as a datum during excavations undertaken between 1926 and 1941 by the Torquay Natural History Society.Higham, T. F. G., Jacobi, R. M. & Bronk Ramsey, C. AMS radiocarbon dating of ancient bone using ultrafiltration. Radiocarbon 48, 179–195 (2006) The discovery of the KC4 maxilla was important because it became the earliest direct dated anatomically modern human (AMH) fossil yet discovered from a northwestern European site.Higham, Tom, et al. "The Earliest Evidence for Anatomically Modern Humans In Northwestern Europe." Nature 479.7374 (2011): 521-524. Moreover the date obtained ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
