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Built Heritage and Industry
Built Heritage and Industry
The geology of the Bay has been used since earliest man took up residence in Kents Cavern. Limestone slabs were used to create the Neolithic Tomb at Broadsands ...
... whilst more recently during the Victorian era both the Limestones and Sandstones were massively quarried and used to build the grandest houses and civic buildings in the Bay.
The wealthy Victorians who lived in the developing upmarket resort loved the marble quarried from Petit Tor and it was of such high quality it was in demand in London and as far away as New Zealand. Stone-working families moved to the area and St Marychurch became a village of marble masons and later the Jenkins Marble works opened.
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In 1842 low-grade iron ore was discovered in the limestone plateaus at Brixham and Sharkham Point.
The ore was commercially mined for smelting and for the use in the manufacture of anti-corrosion paint began. By the time the paintworks took the name of the Tor Bay Paint Co in 1895 the company was exporting all over the world. Amongst the contracts held by the company the paint was used in the maintenance of Victoria Falls bridge on the Zambesi River. Having been designed in England, the bridge was transported from Europe in pieces and was assembled on site, bridging the Zambezi River and linking Zimbabwe and Zambia in 1906.
The Torquay terracotta industry, regarded the finest in England. The first pottery opened in 1867 and produced a wide variety of articles including the famous Devon Mottoware. The dark red and brown colours of the products was obtained by mixing local red clay with manganese, Dorset clay and flint.
Photo Credit: Torquay Museum
Photo Credit: Torquay Museum
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