Torpoint ( kw, Penntorr) is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

and town on the

Rame Peninsula The Rame Peninsula ( kw, Gorenys an Ros) is a peninsula in south-east Cornwall. The peninsula is surrounded by the English Channel to the south, Plymouth Sound to the east, the Hamoaze to the northeast and the estuary of the River Lynher to ...

in southeast

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, England, United Kingdom. It is situated opposite the city of Plymouth across the

Hamoaze The Hamoaze (; ) is an estuarine stretch of the tidal River Tamar, between its confluence with the River Lynher and Plymouth Sound, England. The name first appears as ''ryver of Hamose'' in 1588 and it originally most likely applied just to a ...

which is the tidal estuary of the

River Tamar The Tamar (; kw, Dowr Tamar) is a river in south west England, that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A part of the Tamar Valley is a World Heritage Site due to its historic mining activities. T ...

. Torpoint had a population of 8,457 at the 2001 census, decreasing to 8,364 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards also exist ( Torpoint East and Torpoint West). Their combined populations at the same census were 7,717. Torpoint is linked to Plymouth (and Devonport) by the

Torpoint Ferry The Torpoint Ferry is a car and pedestrian chain ferry connecting the A374 which crosses the Hamoaze, a stretch of water at the mouth of the River Tamar, between Devonport in Plymouth and Torpoint in Cornwall. The service was established in 17 ...

. The three vessels that operate the service are chain ferries – that is, they are propelled across the river by pulling themselves on fixed chains which lie across the bed of the river. The journey takes about seven minutes.

Origin of name

It is said that Torpoint's name is derived from Tar Point, a name given because of the initial industry on the west bank of the Hamoaze. However this is actually a nickname given by workers, Torpoint meaning "rocky headland".

History

Torpoint is an eighteenth-century planned town. The grid-based design for the town was commissioned by

Reginald Pole Carew Reginald Pole Carew (28 July 1753 – 3 January 1835) was a British politician. Rt. Hon. Reginald Pole-Carew was born the son of Reginald Pole and Anne Buller of Stoke Damerel, Plymouth, Devon. He was educated at Winchester College and Univers ...

in the Parish of Antony in 1774. His family continue to have a strong influence in the area, having become the Carew Poles in the twentieth century, and still reside at their family seat, Antony House. In 1796 Torpoint was the setting for a shooting battle between the crew of a government vessel, the ''Viper'', and a large party of armed liquor

smugglers Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

, in which one person was killed and five people seriously wounded. Due to the presence of Devonport Dockyard, the town grew as Dockyard workers settled there. The establishment of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

's main training facility, HMS ''Raleigh'' also increased the population of Torpoint.

Notable people from Torpoint

''See :People from Torpoint'' *

John Langdon Down John Langdon Haydon Down (18 November 1828 – 7 October 1896) was a British physician best known for his description of the genetic condition now known as Down syndrome, which he originally classified in 1862. He is also noted for his work in ...

was born in Torpoint in 1828. He later described the medical condition which is now referred to as

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

. He was called back on a number of occasions to help his father in his local business until his father's death in 1853.

Education

Educational institutions in Torpoint include: *Torpoint Infant School — a medium-large

infant school An infant school is a term used primarily in England and Wales, for the education of children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular area. It is sometimes a department in a larger primary school ...

. *Carbeile Junior School — a large

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

. * Torpoint Community College, a small secondary school.

Sport and leisure

Torpoint has a non-league football club, Torpoint Athletic F.C., which plays at The Mill.

Twinning

Torpoint is twinned with Benodet (Benoded) in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

, France.

Town Council

1894 The Torpoint Town Council was established with Mr Joseph Shepheard as its Chairman. Cllr Ron Widdecombe was the first Mayor of Torpoint The Town Council has Cllr Miss Rachel Evans BEM as the town Mayor and Cllr Gary Davis as the deputy Mayor. The Town Council is made up of 14 East Ward Councillors and 1 West Ward Councillor.

References

External links

Torpoint website

Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Torpoint
{{Authority control Towns in Cornwall Civil parishes in Cornwall Populated coastal places in Cornwall