Grand Hotel 1912, Torquay
Grand Hotel 1912, Torquay Ref: 64673
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Memories of Grand Hotel 1912, Torquay
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Torquay & local memories
Read and share memories of Torquay and Devon inspired by Frith photos.
Shrublands Maternity Home
Re Shrublands my son was born there in September 1958 when it was in a large house in Morgan Avenue just up from Castle Circus. The house is still there but it is now a drug rehabilitation centre.
Loving Memories of A Loving Mother
Two ladies wearing hats.. the lady on the left could have been my mother.. but perhaps not. I remember my mother dressed similar... she brought our family through the war years 1939-1945... She is for ever loved.
Beach
I was born in Torquay in June 1954 in Shrublands Hospital (can anybody remember that hospital, it was in the Warberrys).
I left Torquay when I was 23 and came to live in London, my heart is still there. Who knows, I might retire back there.
But the town has changed so much. I spent a lot of time down the beach, I see they have knocked down the sheds - there was a cafe there and toilets, yes it looks bare now.
Clog Morris Dancing at Torquay Harbour on an August Evening
This view of the harbour taken in 1888 has by chance captured dead centre the very spot where 120 years later the dancers and musicians of Heather and Gorse Clog Dancers turned out to entertain crowds of holiday makers one warm summer evening.
We gathered as dusk was falling at 8pm and the fairy lights and illuminations were twinkling all around the harbour. Our band struck up some catchy jigs and polkas on our accordians, melodians and drums and the dancers entertained the crowds who stood all round us snapping away with their cameras and with their children trying to join in! We provided a dozen dances over about an hour and wound up with a huge dance for the audience to join in.
By this time it was dark but a lovely atmosphere with the high tide bobbing the boats around next to us, and all the illuminations shining brightly. The promenade around the harbour is a pedestrian area made of brick pavers and wonderful... Read more
Them Were The Days
My family (Isaac..Reg, Lilian, June, Pat, aunty Mary, uncle Denny, and cousins Andrew and Mark and Grandad Isaac) used to holiday in this hotel each year from about 1968 to 1975. I have some wonderful childhood memories of Astwell Hall and can remember a lady called Miss Cotton ran the hotel in the early days before a gent called Mr Lane took over. I can also recall a dog called Rufus! Being a YMCA hotel they were always organising money making schemes for charity which included football matches on Abbey meadows. A concert was held every Thursday and us kids always did a turn. I distinctly remember one year early on when we sang the 'so long, farewell' song from the sound of music which the 'Mcdonald' family from Scotland played a big part...the name Sheena rings a bell. In about 1973 or 4 a porter named Michael or Mick impersonated Mick Jagger and sang 'Brown Sugar' on the stage. It was great fun on dance night when we danced... Read more
Heather And Gorse Clog Dancers Perform For The Grand Hotel in Torquay
The front of the Grand Hotel as shown in this view from 1912 is remarkably like the hotel now, in 2008. Its only when the dancers and musicians of Heather and Gorse Clog Dancers went inside that we found a huge sun lounge, a wide terrace overlooking swimming pools and a fountain that are modern additions!
The Grand Hotel and local radio station, Gemini, had organised a fund raising day for local charities under the hotel's banner of an "Easter Eggstravaganza" and we were part of the entertainment programme. This was Easter Saturday - the earliest Easter for almost 100 years and believe me the weather reminded us! We danced on the wide terrace and most of our audience watched through windows from the warmth of the hotel's sun lounge! A few hardier souls ventured outside and sat under parasols to protect themselves from the occasional flurries of sleet and fine snow! It was a truly cold day but the hotel did provide us with a barbeque lunch... Read more
A Close Call
In 1941, during the Second World War, and I was a page boy working at the Osborne Hotel. I always rode my cycle to work and back. I believe it was on a Sunday that I was pushing my cycle up the lane at the side of the Palace Hotel, I stopped when I heard the roar of planes and cannon shells being fired at the hotel. A huge explosion followed as a bomb hit the hotel. I think I broke the world record as I ran back the way I had come from. That day many RAF personel died in this attack from German fighter bombers. How lucky I was to be so close to the attack and not get hurt. Oh yes, my cycle was a casualty as the blast broke one side of my handlebar and meant I had to walk home.
I Love it
Torquay has an unjustified reputation of being a 'dump'.
I visited this town for the day during a holiday in nearby Dartmouth.
True, one day can't be enough to make a proper judgement but I really liked Torquay and wondered why people do consider it to be a 'dump'.
Local Bakery
Hello. My name is Sheila and I often search the webb for things in reference to Torquay, Devon. My mother lived there for a short while in 1946 where she met my father, his name was John and he was in the navy. He was helping out at a local bakery delivering bread, when he met my mother, Frances. She lived almost opposite Torr Station which now has another use. She was in a domestic post for two elderly teachers who worked at the local college. I would love to hear anything of interest about any thing connected to what I have already written. I was born early 1947.
