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The tourist has been replaced in importance by a new kind of visitor - the one who comes to stay. The Westcountry in general has become an area of strong net immigration. People move from all parts of the country to live in a mild climate in an area surrounding by beautiful countryside and largely free of the crime and social problems of the cities. Many of the new residents are retired folk, but many others are of working age who have simply come to escape city life. The infrastructure is good, the healthcare system excellent, and communications with other parts of the country are also good. So many people have come (including myself, I am from London) that it can be difficult to find an adult born locally.
At the end of the 18th century communications throughout Devon were improving rapidly. Trewman's Exeter Flying Post was the newspaper for the whole of the county and turnpike trusts were improving roads and making travel between towns easier. In 1785 the Keyberry Turnpike Trust opened the road from Barton to Newton Bushell (Abbot). It was at this time that John and Charles Wesley went on their preaching tours in the West Country.
So it was that two brothers, Edward and John Henley, travelled to Exeter to hear John Wesley preach. Subsequently, Wesley stayed with them and preached at both West Hill and Pavor Meadow. It appears that Edward lived in Swan Street (behind Fleet Walk) and John lived at Barton. In 1788 they began to preach in accordance with Methodist principles from a room in George Street and, after objections from neighbours, used Edward's home in Swan Street. Edward and his wife still attended Matins at St. Saviour's, Torre, and trotted out to Barton, on one horse, for an afternoon service at brother John's and returned for an evening service at home.
Their preaching proved effective and in 1802 a thatched chapel was built, or possibly a cottage was converted at Barton; subsequently an adjacent cottage was purchased to allow for expansion. The Torquay congregation was outgrowing the Henley's home and in 1807 two cottages of a row of eight in the Fleet valley were acquired and converted into a chapel. This became known as the Chapel in the Meadow. Services continued to be held there until 1852. By then the congregation had outgrown the Chapel in the Meadow and a prominent site in Rock Road was purchased and the Rock Road Chapel built on it. By the middle of the century there was much discussion on the development of the lower Fleet valley. Finally, in 1864 existing buildings were removed and the row of shops from Rock Road to George Street was built. By 1870 the shop on the corner of George Street, on the site of the Chapel in the Meadow, had become the premises of Peter Thomas, draper. In the 1880's this was taken over by J. E Rockhey, twice Mayor of Torquay. Rockheys became a household name and continued until 1973 when it was bought by Dingles of Plymouth, and so it remained until 1988 when the premises stood empty for two years, Burger King taking over the building in 1990.
In the 1850's a group of Primitive Methodists began meeting in Torquay.