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39-612: The English Riviera Geopark ( ERG ) in Torbay is one of eight UNESCO Global Geoparks in the United Kingdom , and one of over one hundred and seventy worldwide. It is one of only two urban Geoparks in the UK, and joined the Global Geoparks Network on 16 September 2007. The Geopark covers 6,200 hectares of land and 4,100 hectares of sea bed . Geopark status was granted to Torbay on

78-737: A foreign language . The fishing port of Brixham is home to one of England and Wales' most successful fishing fleets and regularly lands more value than any UK port outside Scotland. It is also a base for Her Majesty's Coastguard and the Torbay Lifeboat Station . Torbay has been twinned with Hameln in Lower Saxony , Germany since 1973; and with Hellevoetsluis in the Netherlands since 1989. The Melville Street, Warren Road, Rock Road and Coburg Place area of Torbay, also known as Melville Hill, has experienced deprivation and violence since

117-408: A massive effect on the future geopark, tilting sediments and forming the beautiful fold on the island of Ore Stone. 280 million years ago continental collision had brought the geopark into the centre of Pangea and into the middle of a huge desert, at a similar latitude to the modern-day Sahara . This desert is preserved as both windblown, fine sandstones which form Roundham Head, and breccia which

156-419: A result of the huge pressures. Solution of the limestone led to the formation of caves, and deposition of speleothems . The most important cave in the geopark is Kents Cavern . Torbay Torbay / t ɔːr ˈ b eɪ / 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

195-433: A second tier of local government in that part of the borough; the rest of the borough is an unparished area . Torbay as an administrative area was created in 1968, when the municipal borough of Torquay , the urban districts of Brixham and Paignton , and the parish of Churston Ferrers were all abolished. Torbay was created as a county borough covering the area of the abolished authorities, with some adjustments of

234-580: A small fishing village until the early 19th century; a new harbour was built here in 1837. A new phase in the urban expansion of the area began when Torre railway station opened in December 1848. The railway extended to Torquay Seafront station in 1858, to Paignton in 1859 and to Brixham in 1861. As a result of its expansion, Torquay was granted borough status in 1872, and 1902 saw its first marketing campaign to summer tourists. Torbay Golf and Country Club (now defunct) opened in 1933. The club and course closed in

273-674: Is in the Torbay parliamentary constituency which was created in 1974 and was won by Steve Darling for the Liberal Democrats in 2024 having been held by Adrian Sanders of the Liberal Democrats from 1997 to 2015 and Kevin Foster for the Conservatives from 2015 to 2024. Brixham and part of Paignton fall within the South Devon constituency , which is also represented by a Liberal Democrat Caroline Voaden . There are three main towns around

312-461: Is rich in coral fossilised in its growing position, as well as Late Eifelian limestone. Hollicombe Head to Corbyn Head have features of alluvial fan conglomerate deposits and seasonal river sandstones , both Permian in origin. Hopes Nose features gold and palladium mineral deposits left by hydrothermal fluids, and the area is also important for the study of Quaternary stratigraphy and sea level change . Long Quarry features evidence of

351-484: Is suggested that the popularity of cabbage trees in Torbay is attributable to their first being introduced to the UK in that region. Torbay includes: The 2011 census confirmed Torbay's reputation as a retirement area, with a higher proportion of all age groups over the age of 50 than nationally. However compared to 2001, age groups 75-79 and 80-85 both showed a decline of around 4%, compared to increases of 1.5% and 14% for

390-668: The Glorious Revolution , and issued his famous declaration "The Liberties of England and The Protestant Religion I Will Maintain". Torquay's economy, like Brixham's, initially depended on fishing and agriculture, but in the early 19th century the area began to develop into a fashionable seaside resort , initially frequented by members of the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars while the Royal Navy anchored in Tor Bay and later, as

429-623: The Pennines it extends through Nottinghamshire and central Yorkshire . Smaller outcrops occur in other parts of Britain such as the Red Cliffs of Dawlish and East Devon . In terms of its lithology , the New Red Sandstone comprises true sandstones, mudrocks and evaporite strata . The sandstone units are monomineralic, consisting only of quartz grains (negligible amounts of other minerals may be present), and they are cemented together with

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468-467: The Variscan Orogeny . Permian red breccia is also visible there. There are exposed marine cave systems between Berry Head and Sharkham Point . Between Black Head and Anstey's Cove is Torbay's largest outcrop of igneous rock . Crystal Cove has a 25 metre wide zone of calcite . Kents Cavern and Brixham Cavern contained fossils of the now extinct woolly rhinoceros and cave lion . Dyers Quarry

507-508: The suicide rate was higher than elsewhere in the South West, and that many residents were either unemployed or earnt low wages. The local authority first set up a "Making Melville Marvellous" project to support urban renewal in 2013, but this did not lead to results. In 2020 the local authority identified £100,000 of funding from adult social care to start the project again. The aims include supporting people who misuse substances, improving

546-433: The 1970s. This is an historic area with 44 Grade II listed buildings. In 2013, a Healthwatch report for the council found that the area had high levels of houses in multiple occupation, "a fairly transient community" and heavy drug use. The report stated that Melville Hill had "a historic reputation as a dumping ground for transient, out of work single people with chaotic lifestyles", but that most residents felt it

585-481: The Torbay Limestones and sandstones. At the same time, volcanic eruptions blanketed these sediments with volcanic ash. The limestone was held together by hard sponges known as stromatoporoids - modern corals that we are accustomed to today were yet to evolve, but early corals did thrive alongside crinoids , gastropods , brachiopods , trilobites and goniatites (early relatives of ammonites ). At this time

624-569: 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 offerings at a curious rock formation in Kent's Cavern, known as "The Face". A Roman burial

663-672: The area was south of the equator. During the Carboniferous period the limestones and sandstones of the Devonian were forced up by the Variscan Orogeny which affected what are now Devon and Cornwall (forming the granites of Dartmoor ) and stretched as far as the Czech Republic in the East and North America in the west (although at his point the Atlantic did not exist). This mountain-building event had

702-414: The boundaries to neighbouring areas; the more rural southern parts from Brixham and Churston Ferrers were transferred to the parish of Kingswear , and there were more minor adjustments to the boundaries with the neighbouring parishes of Coffinswell , Kerswells and Marldon . As a county borough, Torbay was administratively independent from Devon County Council . Six years later, in 1974, local government

741-554: The development, formation and growth of a stromatoporoid reef . Lummaton Quarry's shell deposits led to the naming of the Devonian period. Saltern Cove is a regionally important unconformity and Site of Special Scientific Interest . The earliest rocks within the Geopark were deposited in environments not unlike the Caribbean today; warm, life-rich shallow seas provided the geopark with

780-466: The establishment of the English Riviera Geopark ; as of July 2008, this is the sole urban geopark of the 53 geoparks worldwide. Because of the mild climate, Torbay palm trees are a common sight along the coast. However, these are in fact not palms but Cordyline australis , originating from New Zealand where it is known as "cabbage tree". These trees also flourish elsewhere in the UK. It

819-433: The ferric iron oxide haematite (Fe 2 O 3 ). The presence of this particular iron oxide is evidence for a terrestrial environment of deposition such as a desert , and gives the rocks the red colour which they are named after. The common effect of rusting produces exactly the same deposit, but as a result of a different process. The sandstone units generally lack fossils (as do most terrestrial rocks). The grains in

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858-659: The formation consists of reddish to yellowish sandstones, interbedded with rare evaporite minerals such as halite and gypsum . These indicate deposition within a hot and arid palaeo-environment, such as a desert or sabkha . The New Red Sandstone was originally identified in Scotland , at quarries in Elgin . It covers large parts of the Moray Firth Basin. In this area it overlies the Old Red Sandstone unconformably (missing

897-404: The grounds that the area has a varied geology covering several geological periods , which are exposed at the surface in many areas, and also that Torbay Council and other bodies have worked to promote the area's distinctive geology to the community via education. Many places in Torbay are Geopark attractions. Babbacombe Cliffs have upside down layering of slates and limestone formed during

936-685: The intervening rocks), and both sandstones were used extensively in architecture in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. It also covers much of central England , where it generally forms a low-lying plain except for the Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau . Thick layers (up to 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) thick) are present in the faulted Cheshire Basin which also extends beneath north Shropshire . There are numerous escarpments forming small prominent hills within this area. The sandstone also underlies parts of Lancashire and Cumbria , and east of

975-490: The marine inlet of Tor Bay: Torquay in the north, Paignton in the centre, and Brixham in the south. These have become connected over the years, swallowing up villages and towns such as St Marychurch , Cockington , Churston Ferrers and Galmpton , though the latter maintains a rural feel thanks to tight conservation measures. The borough of Torbay is bordered by the South Hams to the south and west, and by Teignbridge to

1014-450: The member have a high degree of sphericity , are very well sorted and typically have a small size range (0.5 to 2 millimetres (0.020 to 0.079 in)). The NRS is a texturally mature rock. Certain units of the New Red Sandstone (e.g. Hopeman Sandstone Formation and Helsby Sandstone Formation ) feature commonly as building stone due to their abundance and mechanical strength. The New Red Sandstone has yielded many fossils, including

1053-527: The mid-1950s. Tor Bay hosted the sailing events for the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. In the 1970s Torbay had problems with substance abuse and people living in poor conditions in houses of multiple occupation . Torbay Council is the local authority for the borough. Since 1998 it has been a unitary authority , performing the functions of both a county council and district council combined. The borough contains one civil parish , Brixham, which forms

1092-574: The north. Nearby towns include Totnes and Dartmouth in the South Hams, and Newton Abbot and Teignmouth in Teignbridge. The southern limit of Tor Bay is Berry Head , and the northern limit is Hope's Nose, although Torquay itself stretches further north into Babbacombe Bay , where the beaches at Oddicombe , Babbacombe and Maidencombe can be found; these are noted for their interesting Breccia cliffs. Torbay's many geological features have led to

1131-674: The proposed Devon Metro but lack of funding prevented construction. Approval of planning permission expired November 2019, but a new application for funding was made in June 2020 for a new design incorporating lifts instead of ramps. If government funding is approved, a new planning application would be made. The station was awarded £7.8m from the New Stations Fund in November 2020. Famous former residents of Torbay include: New Red Sandstone Its upper layers consist of mudstones , but most of

1170-489: The quality of housing and developing community. Torbay is beyond the motorway network and is primarily served by: Bus services are largely operated by Stagecoach South West , with some routes run by Torbay Minibuses and County Bus. Torbay has three stations on the National Rail network, with services operated by Great Western Railway : A new station at Edginswell was planned to open in December 2018 as part of

1209-514: The town's fame spread, by Victorian society. The historic part of Paignton lies inland: salt marsh formerly occupied the low-lying coastal fringe. Kirkham House is a late- medieval stone house and the Coverdale Tower adjacent to Paignton Parish Church is named after Miles Coverdale , who published an English translation of the Bible in 1536 and became Bishop of Exeter in 1551. Paignton remained

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1248-728: The towns of Paignton and Brixham . The borough consists of 24.27 sq mi (62.9 km ) of land around the east-facing Tor Bay , part of Lyme Bay on the English Channel . 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 . Human bones and tools found in Kents Cavern in Torquay show that people have inhabited

1287-461: The underlying grey Devonian limestones. During the Triassic , Jurassic , Cretaceous and Tertiary periods sediments may have been deposited over the Geopark; but later erosion has removed them, leaving no trace; however activity elsewhere across the globe has left impressions on the geopark; the collision of Africa and Europe has been felt in the Geopark, leaving the bay crisscrossed with faults as

1326-423: The whole country. Some other statistics from the 2011 census: Torbay's main activities are public service; serving its large retired community such as in hospitality, construction and repairs; tourism; the transport sector including boats; distribution; retail; fishing; the digital, media and arts sector. It has a few established schools and accredited teachers/hosts for the short-term study of English as

1365-651: The world-famous Elgin Reptiles . These are late Permian to Late Triassic in age, and include mammal-like reptiles and some of the earliest predecessors of dinosaurs. An earliest Permian ( Asselian ) fauna is known from the Kenilworth Sandstone Formation of the English Midlands, including primitive synapsids and temnospondyl amphibians. Many ancient buildings of Devon Red Sandstone can be found in Exeter

1404-468: Was a friendly area. In 2014, the council said that the area had "significant challenge ... from car parking, poor quality public realm, bin storage, rat running, ASB , HMOs, lack of community space/play area, links to the town centre". In 2015, the local health authority noted that residents had a lower life expectancy than in other areas of Torbay, that the proportion of people in the area who had mental ill health or learning disabilities were high, that

1443-487: Was deposited after large storms and flash floods that periodically occurred within the usually parched desert. These rocks stretch across the UK and are found as far afield as Yorkshire. Collectively they are known as the New Red Sandstone . Their red colour (and thus the colour of the soil overlaying them) is derived from groundwater under the desert caused iron in the sediments to alter to haematite , which also stained

1482-609: Was discovered in 1993 in Paignton . Both Brixham and Paignton appear in the Domesday Book of 1086, and Paignton was given a market charter in 1294 granting it a weekly market and annual fair. The first major building in Torquay was Torre Abbey , a Premonstratensian monastery founded in 1196 and associated with the manor of Torre. William, Prince of Orange (afterwards King William III ), landed in Brixham on 5 November 1688, during

1521-503: Was reformed again, with Torbay becoming a non-metropolitan district and Devon County Council providing county-level services to the area again. Torbay regained its independence from the county council in 1998 when it was made a unitary authority. Torbay remains part of the ceremonial county of Devon for the purposes of lieutenancy . The area is represented nationally at the House of Commons by two MPs. Torquay (along with part of Paignton)

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