Babbacombe is a district of

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is notable for Babbacombe Model Village, the Babbacombe Theatre and its clifftop green, Babbacombe Downs, from which Oddicombe Beach is accessed via Babbacombe Cliff Railway. Frequent buses connect Babbacombe with

town centre while service 22 operates between

Dawlish Warren Dawlish Warren is a seaside resort near the town of Dawlish in Teignbridge on the south coast of Devon in England. Dawlish Warren consists almost entirely of holiday accommodation and facilities for holiday-makers especially caravan sites. Lo ...

and South Devon College.

Churches and schools

All Saints' church, Babbacombe - geograph

The Church of All Saints was designed by the architect

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

and built in 1868-74 under the aegis of Rev. John Hewett whose initiative it had been to build it. It is in the Neogothic style and has fine polychrome stonework in the font, pulpit and the chancel floor made from Devon marble. All Saints Church belongs to the Anglo-Catholic tradition within the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, and its parish is one of those in the

Diocese of Exeter The Diocese of Exeter is a Church of England diocese covering the county of Devon. It is one of the largest dioceses in England. The Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter is the seat of the diocesan Bishop of Exeter. It is part of the Provinc ...

. The first vicar was Fr. John Hewitt, whose ministry began when the church was founded and continued to his retirement in 1910. Babbacombe has a primary school, All Saints Babbacombe Church of England Primary School.

Babbacombe Downs

Babbacombe Downs is the most picturesque part of Babbacombe having fabulous views over Lyme bay. From Babbacombe Downs there is easy access using cliff paths to Oddicombe beach and Babbacombe beach.

Notable people

Rev. John Hewett was Vicar of Babbacombe and founded the church there. The actress and dancer

Rosina Vokes Rosina Vokes (18 October 1854 – 27 January 1894) was a British music hall, pantomime and burlesque actress and dancer and a member of the Vokes Family troupe of entertainers before having a successful career in her own right in North Ameri ...

(1854-1894) died in Babbacombe.

References

{{Reflist Areas of Torquay