Chapter III. The Strand, Torquay - (1830-1870)

 

Fig. 1: Torquay circa 1832[i] 

Torquay was still a comparatively small town when Edward Cockrem moved back after his apprenticeship in Totnes, but The Strand was in many ways the hub of activity. Torquay had started to develop around the small bay which would eventually become its harbour (Fig. 1). The wood engraving included in one of Cockrem´s earliest publications, Blewitt´s Panorama of Torquay in 1832, shows the few streets at the harbourside with the Strand nearly at the water´s edge. A poem included as an extra in White´s History of Torquay[ii] lists some of the proprietors and residents of the Strand in October 1832, the year gas lighting reached Torquay.

Cockrem had most probably only recently opened offices here, as the address given for him in Blewitt´s guide of that year still has 5 Mill Street, opposite the Lower Terrace. The properties were numbered from the left, Lawrence Place, ending with the Royal Hotel (formerly Poulton´s Hotel), the three-storey structure seen far right in the picture. Using a combination of Blewitt´s work (which included a business directory) and the enchanting poem (and especially the appended footnotes) we can sketch out the occupancy of the Strand in 1832. 

The Introduction of Gas

When gas was introduced to the town in 1832 Mr. Joseph Garrow, one of the resident magistrates, wrote the following lines which were reprinted by White in 1878: Papa and Jemima on a Walk on the Strand on the Night of October 8th, 1834, the first night the Gas was lighted in the Shops.

Come, quick, Jemima, fetch your shawl,	Look opposite, a thousand heads,
Come, come, and take my hand,	Oh, me! whence can they come?
And let us see the brilliant gas	Pray tell me, Jenny, where's the man,
Just lighted on the Strand.	Where is he? Wy-att home.k
Oh! yes, Papa,- Oh! what a treat!	Now here's the last along the Strand,
The Strand looks all in flames;	It cuts a mighty splash, sir,
I know the shops, so let me, pray,	And I believe, don't you, Papa,
Just tell you all the names.	'Twill help to make a Dashper.l
The Bat, they say, ne'er quits his hole,	There's Birmingham and Sheffield ware,
Until the dusky night,	Which used to look so sad;
But there's a Bat's wing flitting round,	Here, to the right, the people stare,
More than the noonday bright.	As if it were Stark mad.m
And Bats, we're told, love darkness grim	See here the new light circulates,
Within their little cell:	Without e'er smoke or gloom,
But here ten gas lights blaze away	Knowledge it offers of all sorts,
At Batt's well known Hotel,a	Or lights a Billiard Room.
What have we next, 'midst silver bright,	Here learning of all kinds is found,
On pedestal so prim!	For head, or heart, or soul;
Had Jacob's father burned gas light,	Good people, do not burn yourselves,
He saw (Esau) had ne'er mocked him.b	They say you're made of Cole,n
Ribbons and lace, and dresses gay,	Oh! here's a flame three feet in height,
I ne'er have seen so well,	Bright as a Salamander;
This little shop, which once so dark,	Too high to last, 'midst boots and shoes,
Will now Rend-ell for ell.c	He looks like a High Lander,o
Here's old established grocery,	And here's a many-coloured flame!
Or physic as you will,	The owner looks so sage,
Who buys it here can see so clear	As pills or potions he compounds,
They never can Hav-ill.d	Or reads the chymic Page.p
Holm wood, I fear, has taken fire,	But what a dingy light is seen,
The blaze so brilliant comes;	Our senses to appal
The gas improves the trade so much,	From Buckey's five-mould stingy ray
Currants will turn to plums,e	As far as darkness Hall.q
Oh, la, Papa! Oh, pray look here!	One light, indeed, beguiles the way,
Don't be in such a hurry,	And saves our scared wits,
Just look at Cockrem's, one would think	It lights the shop and pathway too,
The Sun was stationary.f	We've nought to fear from Pitts. r
And here's a fiery dragon, too,	To look at Gidley's farthing rush
Just tamed by Mr. Burt,	In truth I cannot stay,
Sitting, he breathes six fiery flames,	And that shop there does look so black,
Flames which can do no hurt.g	It's well called White away. s
Oh! what a lovely pair I see,	Now, dear Papa, I've seen enough,
Shewn by this light in front,	So homeward let us pass,
'Tis Hero and Leander, sure,	And ´ere we lay us down thank God
Across the Ellis pont. h	That we have seen the gas.
Here's gold and silver, jewels bright,	Oh! may it prosper, may it show
Sold by a Son of Job,	The ruffian as he lurks,
But he's magnificent, and so	And may the new light drive away
He needs must light the globe.i	The devil and his works.
Oh! what a flame, and white and blue,	Good night, Jemima, fare thee well,
I pray thee do but tarry,	Thy words all praise surpass,
Sure in this world was ne'er such blaze,	And may'st thou never feel a flame
He's Son of the Old Harry.j	That's more impure than gas.

 

Below is an attempt to identify who was where on the Strand on that evening, using the footnotes supplied plus adding a few omissions or subsidiary information. The numbers in bold identify shops on the Strand and are taken from Blewitt[iii]. Brackets contain the superscript for the added footnote (bold), and my own notes are added in brackets here. Supplementary information is taken from White´s History of Torquay, 1850.[iv]

 

The Royal Hotel (a);

14, Alexander Jacobs, Silversmith (b, number taken from White, advertising himself as Jeweller to his Majesty), in 1850 he is also listed as Madrepore Manufacturer;

13 John C Stark had an Ironmongers business (1850) and Cash & Butt were Linen and Woollen Drapers) and there was a branch of the Devon & Exeter Savings Bank under John Cowell Stark (actuary); from 1888 these were the premises of Andrew Iredale;

12, I & A Rendell, Linen-draper (c, in 1850 occupied by John C Stark, house agent);

11, Paul Havill (d), Chemist (with William Havill, Grocer and Tea Dealer); possibly occupying the same premises as Holmwood, Grocer (e);

10, Cockrem (f), Printer, &c. The Sun Printing Office (with, from the 1840s also rooms taken by L Moseley, dentist);

9, Burt, Cabinet Maker (g, Charles William);

(8) James P Ellis, Hair-dresser (h, possibly recently moved from Abbey Place); possibly sharing space with James Braham who ran a watch and clock makers business but by 1850 Burt had taken some of the premises over to expand his business);

(7) James Braham, jeweller (h, watch-maker, goldsmith & engraver);

(at 6 in 1850 was Henry Narracott, Chemist & Druggist);

4, James Harrison, Chemist (j);

(at 3 was Thomas Godfrey, coal merchant);

1 William Gidley, (s, Baker and Confectioner) & Mark Whiteway (s, Auctioneer) – we are told the premises were lit with candles (in 1850 Henry Bowden took over as baker and confectioner).

 

Other traders and businesses mentioned in the poem were all located in the vicinity:

Richard Wyatt, Chemist (k, at 2 Lawrence Place, opposite).

Henry Dashper, Linen-draper (I, at 1 and 8 Mill Street);

Robert & William Stark, Ironmonger (m, and undertakers at the New Quay);

Mrs. Peggy Cole's Library (n, at Lawrence Place, the premises taken over by Seeley);

W Lander, Shoemaker (o, 1 Torwood Street);

Thomas Paige, Chemist (p, 9 Torwood Road);

John Buckingham, Grocer's (q, opposite Royal Hotel) – we are told the shop was lit with candles; probably sharing with Hall, Linen-draper (q, the footnote seems to jump here);

Pitts, Baker (r);

 

Other businesses noted in White´s as having premises on the Strand (1850), but unnumbered, are Fras. H Rendell, a Toy Dealer as well as Painter & Glazier; Ann Godfrey a Haberdasher; Webber & Alderton as Chemists and Druggists; and John Samuel Bowyer a Boot & Shoemaker.

The row of two-storey stores along the Strand was built circa 1810. While the stores remained basically the same, the street did not. By the time Edward Cockrem died (1872) the Strand had been widened to allow more traffic and hence became the main thoroughfare. This is clearly seen in the views engraved in June 1863 (Fig. 2) and October 1875 (Fig. 3) by Rock & Co., of London, who were the leading publisher of small engravings from the 1850s. (Note both engravings are the same original, numbered 4724.)

 

Fig. 2: Torquay from Park Hill, dated 1863.

Fig. 3: Torquay from Park Hill, dated 1875. 

If Cockrem´s premises had been as extensive as those of Shapley & Austin who moved into No. 2 Strand some time before 1880 then there would have been plenty of room to provide a booksellers, printers and newspaper offices. Shapley & Austin advertised heavily in a small publication in which Cockrem´s successor, Arthur Westley, also advertised his many publications: the Illustrated Guide to Torquay by Joye C Kerr (Bristol; Mardon, Son & Hall, Caxton Works; 1884). From the first picture it is clear that there were also extensive cellars and that the rooms stretched considerably towards the back (Fig. 4).

When the first Public Libraries Act gave local councils powers to set up libraries In August 1850 there were only two Circulating Libraries and Reading Rooms in Torquay: those of Edward Cockrem and Robert Wreford´s at 8, Braddons Row.[v] He would have need something spacious and comfortable for his affluent members. However, all the signs are that his premises were in the centre, i.e., one of the two storey buildings. But we do know, from Gauci´s print of the Durnford Sisters taken from Yeo´s drawing, that the store front had attractive bay windows.

 

 

Fig. 4: Shapley and Austin´s premises at No. 2.

In none of Cockrem´s works is there any mention of other premises being used, so he must have located his printing office in the main building at No. 10, Strand. In addition to sales space for all the merchandise that he sold, and his library come reading rooms, he would have required considerable storage space. A considerable amount of his stock was stationery (in Cockrem´s adverts stationary), as seen in the section of an advertisement in his own Torquay and Tor Directory of November 1845 (Fig. 5).

 

Fig. 5: Edward Cockrem´s range of stationery products (1845).

He also offered a bookbinding service and this would have necessitated having a workshop of some size. Other services included engraving and copper plate printing, the provision of books, new music and newspapers from London, and even the sale or hire of piano-fortes.

This Ordnance Survey map from 1854-1863[vi] shows the row of stores but, unfortunately, none of the premises are numbered. It gives an indication of the sizes of the buildings and how they stretched to the back but still had some garden before meeting Higher Terrace. Both The Royal and the Queen´s Hotels are shown on the right. If there were 14 premises (see poem) then Cockrem´s could have been the “double-fronted” store between the “A” and “N” of the street name (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6: Torquay from Ordnance Survey Sheet circa 1863.

His was a strategic location, not only on the Strand, but also in the vicinity of the two main hotels in Torquay at the time. This view by Besley[vii] shows Webb´s Hotel (the Royal Hotel) directly in front, but also Hearders Family Hotel to the right. Cockrem gave these two hotels priority in 1845-46 and all visitors were noted (separately). In the week preceding August 14^th 1846 for example, while Webb´s Royal Hotel could claim the Countess of Mount Edgcumbe and Lord Valletort, Hon. Charles Mount Edgcumbe as guests, the nearby Hearders had Sir James and Lady Copley. When G Townsend drew his picture in 1853, he must have noticed the Durnford Sisters and he included them in his drawing. They were erased and replaced by horses a year later. (See The Alphington Ponies). The view shows the original two-storey arrangement along the Strand (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7: Torquay circa 1853

The view sold by Cockrem in his bookshop towards the 1870s by Kershaw and Son shows that some of the stores had added a storey to their premises and gives an indication of the entrances to the nearer of the stores (Fig. 8). Croydon´s bookshop and library would be set up “adjoining Poulton´s Hotel” (Blewitt) but by 1850 he was on Victoria Parade (opposite the hotel).

Fig. 8: Torquay circa 1870

At the other end of the Strand the road takes a slight right-hand curve to Fleet Street and Lower Union Street, leading into what today is the centre of Torquay town, but Vaughan Parade and Palk Street meet the road at the corner, at Lawrence Place. Here the row of premises was fronted by a promenade (Vaughan Parade) and a lane ran behind with Cary Parade the main road towards the sea front (today Palk Street is a footpath in a small park). This view by J S & Co., of London (who worked with Kershaw and Son) shows a few more three-storey shops and attractive store fronts at the junction with Lawrence Place (Fig. 9).

Fig. 9: The Strand and Lawrence Place in 1870.

One can clearly see Carroll on the left at the one end of the Strand and on the right is the premises of Seeley´s Library. The former could be Carroll, Fisher & Co., importers of wine and ale as well as grocers and tea dealers (White´s Directory 1850) and later Shapley and Austin (circa 1880) at 2, the Strand; the latter was formerly Mrs Cole´s Library at 2, Lawrence Place, and later the premises of William Elliott, who was contemporary with Edward Cockrem. Elliot´s is the only other building identifiable in a print including the Durnford Sisters (see The Alphington Ponies).

A rare photograph from 1865 shows the Strand from Park Hill Road and the central row are still all two-storey buildings, each with an attractive awning (Fig. 10). Cockrem´s premises would have been one of these to the middle (near the trees).

Fig. 10: Torquay in 1865.[viii]

There would have been quite a hustle and bustle on the Strand in Cockrem´s day and the carriages we can see would have been standing at Torre or Torquay station awaiting each down train from Bristol. By 1865 there were also more hotels to choose from and Black´s Guide to Devonshire of that year lists both the Royal and Queen´s (formerly Hearder´s), with further private hotels (presumably lower category) Cumper´s, Osborne, Apsley House and Belgrave House. Alongside the two named hotels is included a new hotel built on Parkhill Road: this would be the Imperial Hotel and Black kept his Torquay maps (but none of the others) so up to date that it appears on the map of Torquay as New Hotel.

Chapter I. Edward Cockrem: his life and publishing output

Chapter II. The Alphington Ponies: the Durnford Sisters

Chapter IV. Croydon, Elliott and Ardley: and the Durnford Sisters

Appendix I. Cockrem´s published works 1829 – 1873

Appendix II. Croydon´s prints, 1817 - 1860

NOTES:

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[i] Octavian Blewitt, Panorama of Torquay – Second Edition; 1832.

[ii] J T White; History of Torquay; privately published; printed at the Directory Office; Torquay; 1878. Pages 385ff.

[iii] There may have been one or two properties to the right of the Royal Hotel.

[iv] I have used Terry Leaman´s website page at: http://www.terry-leaman.co.uk/Tiscali/Whites%201850.htm

[v] A History of Torbay Library Services by Lorna Smith (2007); https://www.torbay.gov.uk/media/1836/historylibraryservice.pdf.

[vi] Taken from Sheet CXVI.23 surveyed circa 1854 and published 1865 from the NLS project on old maps at Map Images (https://maps.nls.uk/index.html). The original is held at the British Library.

[vii] From Besley´s Route Book to Devon, published in 1854. Only these two hotels are mentioned.

[viii] https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/bygones-the-style-and-history-of-torquays-harbourside-heart/

Unless stated, images are from my own collection.