Torcross
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Torcross is a village in the
South Hams South Hams is a local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Services divide between those provided by its own Council headquartered in Totnes, and those provided by Devon County Council headquartered in the city of Exete ...
district of south
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. Devon is ...
in
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 stands at grid reference at the southern end of
Slapton Sands Slapton is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England. It is located near the A379 road between Kingsbridge and Dartmouth, and lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The nearby be ...
, a narrow strip of land and shingle beach which separates the freshwater lake of
Slapton Ley Slapton Ley is a lake on the south coast of Devon, England, separated from Start Bay by a shingle beach, known as Slapton Sands. Slapton Ley is the largest natural freshwater lake in south-west England being long and has two sections; the Low ...
from
Start Bay Start Bay is a sub-bay of the nautical definition of Lyme Bay in the English Channel in south-east Devon, England. The southernmost of three substantial Devon bays facing east it is between the Mew Stone which sits east of the River Dart's est ...
and carries the A379 coastal road north to Dartmouth.


Early history

The first mention of Torcross was recorded at the manorial court in the court rolls of 29 March 1602 when it was recorded that a representative of the new village reported that everything was "all well". In 1854 the coastal road between
Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town and tourist hub in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population at the abo ...
and Dartmouth was built passing through Torcross giving a much needed lifeline to the community. In 1858 a coach service started between Dartmouth and Kingsbridge.


WW2 evacuation and Exercise Tiger

In late 1943 Torcross was evacuated, along with many other villages in the South Hams area, to make way for 15,000 allied troops who needed the area to practice for the
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
landings. In the early hours of 28 April 1944 a tragic incident happened during
Exercise Tiger Exercise Tiger, or Operation Tiger, was one of a series of large-scale rehearsals for the D-Day invasion of Normandy, which took place in April 1944 on Slapton Sands in Devon. Coordination and communication problems resulted in friendly fire ...
: nine German torpedo boats (Schnellboote), alerted by heavy radio traffic, intercepted a three-mile-long convoy of vessels travelling from the
Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...
to Slapton Sands to undertake landing rehearsals for D Day. Two
Tank landing ship Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore with ...
s (LST) were sunk in the engagement and 946 American servicemen died. Poor communications led to badly-timed shelling on the beach, killing about 300 more men. Over 1,000 lives were lost over the course of the operation, most of them through US Army friendly fire. A Sherman amphibious tank and several plaques stand at Torcross car park between Slapton Ley and the beach as memorials to the men who lost their lives. The operation to salvage the tank from the shallow waters of Start Bay was financed by Ken Small, a Torcross hotelier, and was completed in 1984.


Storms and coastal erosion

Over the years Torcross has survived a battering from some terrible storms. On 4 January 1979 enormous waves washed over the roofs of the dwellings causing substantial damage to all the buildings along the then beach front; in the aftermath lorry-loads of boulders were brought in from the
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
area as temporary protection and a new curved
seawall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...
was built. On 11 and 12 January 2001 another bad storm caused the loss of up to five metres of the beachhead along a stretch of beach about 1000 metres long. Part of the A379 road along Slapton Sands near Slapton village was also destroyed; it was not reopened for three months after being rerouted. 3,000 tons of boulders were initially used to protect the road, but were later removed because of damage to the Slapton Ley
SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
. The maintenance of the road is vital to Torcross as it is the main access route to Dartmouth for the villagers and local businesses. South Hams District Council is working to keep the A379 from being eroded, realigning the road and importing shingle from parts of Slapton Sands that have a surplus. A study by
Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...
after the 2001 storm confirmed that because of the reduction in the amount of shingle available and the increasing frequency of storms, coupled with a predicted 30 to 40 cm rise in sea level over the next 50 years, Slapton Sands is retreating and will continue to retreat. On Tuesday and Wednesday 4 and 5 February 2014 a storm caused extensive damage to the properties along the promenade with the sea entering all properties except one on the night of 4 February. The buildings were hit by green water that came over the sea wall and large shingle also hit them. The road was also covered with the beach and became unpassable. Another storm on the night of Friday 14 February resulted in thousands of tonnes of the beach being washed onto the beach road, 4 people had to be rescued from their cars that were washed off the road, the coastguards undertaking the rescue also got their vehicle stuck on the unpassable beach road. In January 2015, some 27,000 tonnes of shingle was moved from further up the beach at a cost of £250,000 to strengthen the sea defences this was washed away by the next high tide. During February 2016 the sea wall collapsed beyond the easternmost buildings, which resulted in the road being closed. Also the concrete promenade began to crack along its length.


Tourism

The village was originally a fishing/farming village however tourism developed in the late Victorian age with at its peak 3 hotels and 10 B&Bs hosting many tourists who visited the area, sadly no hotels remain. There are only 3 B&Bs and a few Airbnbs, village facilities includes 3 eating places, The Torcross Boathouse restaurant and fish & chip takeaway, The Start Bay Inn and Sea Breeze café. Torcross lies at the southern end of Slapton Ley National Nature Reserve where Slapton Ley issues through a culvert under the road and into the sea. The A379 road swings inland towards Kingsbridge at the village and the dwellings of Torcross follow the road inland for a few hundred metres. Some dwellings situated on higher ground south of the village offer views of Start Bay.


See also

*
Exercise Tiger Exercise Tiger, or Operation Tiger, was one of a series of large-scale rehearsals for the D-Day invasion of Normandy, which took place in April 1944 on Slapton Sands in Devon. Coordination and communication problems resulted in friendly fire ...
*
Hallsands Hallsands is a village and beach in south Devon, England, in a precarious position between cliffs and the sea, between Beesands to the north and Start Point to the south. History The early history of Hallsands is unknown, but a chapel has exis ...
, a nearby village that was destroyed by the sea in 1917.


References


External links

{{coord, 50.26619, N, 3.65420, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SX822420), display=title Seaside resorts in England Beaches of Devon Villages in South Hams Stokenham