The Postcard
A postally unused postcard bearing no publisher's name. The card has a divided back.
The Palace Hotel
In its 90 years as a leading resort hotel, the Palace Hotel has seen its fair share of famous names, front-page politicians and sports personalities over the years.
Princess Anne, the late Tory Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and TV's Sue Barker whose professional tennis career blossomed on its courts, have stayed at or visited the hotel which hosted many top-flight events and conferences as well as being a holiday venue.
The hotel enjoyed a long golden age. Since the 1920's its gilded ballroom and dining salon has thronged with summer visitors while waiters in dinner jackets hurried politely between tables.
-- History of the Palace Hotel
The hotel started life as the seaside mansion of a controversial bishop. The house was built in 1841 by Henry Philpotts, Lord Bishop of Exeter, in 25 acres of grounds.
Bishopstowe was built in the Italianate style comprising nine main bedrooms, 11 servants’ bedrooms and a large shed for washing carriages.
The bishop was a powerful figure. In both the pulpit and in the House of Lords he was an opponent of political, economic and social reform. He was the last of the clerical aristocracy.
Where he got the money for his splendid mansion – and the Bishop’s Walk along the coast – has been the subject of recent debate. In 2006 it was alleged that Henry was paid almost £13,000 in 1833 – equivalent to more than £1,000,000 today – as compensation for the freeing of 665 slaves on a plantation in Barbados which he owned with three business colleagues.
Bishopstowe was not unique in being funded by the slave trade.
Bishop Henry died in 1869 at the age of 91, and the house and grounds passed through various owners until its conversion and expansion into a large hotel in 1921.
It soon attracted an international clientele, drawn to its golf course, covered swimming pool (opened in 1928), covered and open tennis courts, bowling greens, squash courts, a gymnasium and even a cinema.
-- The Bombing of the Hotel
The hotel’s darkest hour was during WWII when it was being used as an RAF hospital. At 11am on the 25th. October 1942, four German Focke-Wulf 190 Fighter Bombers flew in at low level, dropping bombs and firing cannons.
One bomb scored a direct hit on the east wing of the Palace Hotel, causing many casualties including 37 dead. The hotel was targeted again in January 1943. It was not able to open as a hotel again until 1948.
However it was not long before the Palace was back on its feet, benefiting from the surge of tourism to Torbay in the 1960's and 1970's. It has changed hands many times.
-- Demolition of the Palace Hotel
Sadly, the majestic former four-star Palace Hotel is no more. It was demolished in June 2020 in order to make way for a modern luxury spa resort with a 9-storey hotel and 37 luxury houses built on the site of the old tennis courts.
The redevelopment is part of a £150m plan by the Singapore-based Fragrance Group, which bought the Palace Hotel and its extensive gardens and parkland along with three other sites in the English Riviera for state-of-the-art new hotels.
An eerie look inside the hotel while it was being demolished was captured by two urban explorers who found strangely posed toys, hanging skeletons and animal bones.
Recalling what he saw at the time, one of the explorers said:
"We initially took pictures from the outside,
and came across the abandoned garage.
We managed to find a way in to the hotel,
we really didn't think we would.
It was surprising to see stacks of plates and
televisions just left to rot.
It was actually pretty terrifying, and our first
thought was that people were still living there.
We found all the room keys on the desks, so it
got us into some of the suites.
A lot of the old chairs had rip marks like dogs
had been there, and there were animal bones
around the dining area.
Someone in the staff quarters had hung plastic
skeletons, like those used in Halloween
decorations, around the rooms.
There were Bibles everywhere, and in one room
a dead pigeon looked like it had been placed in
the centre of the room and it had no eyes.
A bittersweet notice from staff in one photograph
showed, in loose lettering, the 'farewell' lyrics from
Frank Sinatra's classic song 'My Way' - a popular
choice at funerals."
One of the explorers said he was blown away by the scale and luxury of the hotel:
"It looked like it had been closed for a week, not
more than a year. It is a beautiful building. It must
have been something really nice when it was up
and running."
I expect that the cork bridge has long gone. If anyone knows for sure, please leave a note.
Torquay
Torquay is a seaside town in Devon, England. It lies 18 miles (29 km) south of the county town of Exeter, and 28 miles (45 km) east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay and across from the fishing port of Brixham.
The town's economy, like Brixham's, was initially based upon fishing and agriculture; however, in the early 19th. century it began to develop into a fashionable seaside resort.
Later, as the town's fame spread, it was popular with Victorian society. Renowned for its mild climate, the town earned the nickname the English Riviera.
The writer Agatha Christie was born in the town and lived at Ashfield in Torquay during her early years. There is an "Agatha Christie Mile", a tour with plaques dedicated to her life and work.
The poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning lived in the town from 1837 to 1841. This was on the recommendation of her doctor in an attempt to cure her of a disease which is thought likely to have been tuberculosis.
Her former home now forms part of the Regina Hotel in Vaughan Parade.
