Torpoint

Torpoint is a city in the southeast of Cornwall in the UK.

Geography

The city is located in the east of the Rame Peninsula and is the largest town on the peninsula. It lies on the banks of the Tamar Estuary Hamoaze mentioned, opposite the Naval Base Devonport. In the north, the city borders the mouth of the Lynher, south of the city is St John 's Lake, a bay of Hamoaze that falls dry at low tide and an important habitat for wading birds and stopover for migratory birds. In the West, the city borders the municipalities of Antony and Millbrook at the mouth of Millbrook Creek.

History

The area of Torpoint belonged to the 19th century to the municipality Antony. The name is first mentioned in 1734 on a map as Point Tarr. In the church records of Antony in 1745 craftsmen from Torpoint be mentioned which have made repairs to the church. The settlement grew into a small settlement for workers at the nearby naval shipyard, as in Devonport own living space was scarce and the city of Plymouth was then Devonport also only accessible by boat or ship. 1760 the settlement was connected by a toll road with Liskeard and was also accessible from Cornwall from. From the 1770s, Reginald Pole Carew, who in 1771 inherited the near Antony House began with the scheduled installation of a new city with its own small yard, a jetty and a warehouse. On a map from 1774 lime kilns, a rope factory, shops and a mill are listed. In the next few years, Torpoint developed into a small port for the eastern Cornwall. This development was eventually suppressed by the customs administration, could not control the port or wanted.

From 1791 on, there was regular ferry to Devonport, the second ferry across the Tamar in addition to the existing since the Middle Ages ferry between Stonehouse and Cremyll. By expanding the Navy Yard Torpoint continued to grow and in 1872 independently as a community of Antony. With the further expansion of the Navy Yard, the population grew from 2144 (1811) on 4953 (1911 ). In 1904 the city received the status of an Urban District.

North of the city was built from 1920 Yonderberry - fuel depot of the Royal Navy. From 1940, in addition to the fuel depot the naval training establishments HMS Raleigh and HMS Fisgard emerged. This led to a further population growth, but because of this naval facilities and its proximity to Devonport, the town was in 1941 the goal of German air attacks and suffered heavy destruction here. 2009, the Urban Districts in Cornwall were dissolved so that Torpoint is now under the direct authority of the unitary authority Cornwall.

Economy

Because of the location on the St John 's Lake and the Plymouth Sound Torpoint has been a popular hobby for sailors and windsurfers Marina, nevertheless hardly plays a role in tourism for the city. The ferry was until the opening of the railway bridge over the Tamar at Saltash in 1859, the main link between Plymouth and Cornwall, for vehicles remained the only direct connection from Plymouth to Cornwall until the construction of the highway bridge over the Tamar in 1964. The fleet reductions of the Royal Navy since the 1960s led to a decline in the importance of the Naval Base Devonport and thus to a loss of jobs. In 1983, the education system HMS Fisgard was merged with HMS Raleigh. Torpoint remained location of the training facility, HMS Raleigh and the Marine Band of the Royal Navy, but the importance of the Navy as an employer has declined sharply.

Traffic

The ferry at Torpoint on the 450 m wide Tamar to Devonport has existed since 1791. Originally was the ferry with sailing or rowing boats. 1834 by James Rendell, a steam-driven chain ferry installed, stands as the longest chain ferry in the world today. The ferry is operated in conjunction with the highway bridge over the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint of The Tamar Ferry Joint Committee, a joint operation of the city of Plymouth and the county of Cornwall. The existing three ferries Tamar II, Plym II and II are Lynher since 2005/2006 and in operation, in addition to cars and pedestrians also trucks and buses carry up to 20 tons.

In addition to the A 374, which follows the course of the old toll road to Liskeard, only leads the Trevol Road on HMS Raleigh to Torpoint.

Attractions

The Church of St James in the town center was built in 1819 in neo-Gothic style and is since 1873 the parish church.

Sons and daughters of the town

• John Langdon Down, a British physician and neurologist