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Torquay doesn't look like a railway town but its history is closely linked with the railways.
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 ringed by the three towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, is ideal as a large sheltered anchorage for ships. It 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.
After Napoleon was captured he was held on the warship "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 war with Napoleon. Since then smuggling of one kind or another has not completely stopped.
In later years Queen Victoria reviewed the entire British Fleet in the waters of Torbay. 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.
By 1850 there were about 2000 bedrooms in the small hotels of Torquay. The population of Torquay grew rapidly from 838 in 1801 to 11,474 in 1851.
A postcard from a holidaymaker to her friend in London. Stand on this spot today and you will see exactly the same thing.
In the 1840's 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. The railways also brought the end of the old way of life. The age of the railway brought an era of prosperity and many large hotels were built in Torquay, starting in 1863 with the building of the Imperial Hotel, still the largest hotel in Torquay.