Agatha Christie and Torquay
Agatha Christie was born in Torquay as Agatha Miller, one of the youngest of fairly large and fairly wealthy family. She spent many years living in and around the English Riviera, even setting a number of her books in the South Devon area.
Explore Agatha Christie’s Torquay
You can learn more about the places Agatha Christie would visit by following the Agatha Christie Mile, which is marked by plaques throughout Torquay.
Here’s our guide of the places to visit for a Christie themed break.
Ashfield
Agatha Christie and her family lived at Ashfield a large Victorian mansion with several acres of garden surrounding it. The mansion stood on Barton Road and has now been demolished, but it lives on, both via a blue plaque which marks where the spot originally was and in her novel Postern of Fate. In the book, the house is known as the Laurels.
All Saints Church
Agatha Christie was christened as Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller at All Saints Church. The church was built using funds donated by the Miller family and they all attended on a Sunday. The church is still there, on Bampfyld Road and the marble font used for christenings is the same one used then!
Torre Abbey
One of the oldest buildings in Torquay, Torre Abbey is well worth a visit either way, but you will find a potent plant garden here that was inspired by Agatha Christie. While working as a nurse, she learned a lot about chemistry and poisons and used it as a method of death in several of her books. Her knowledge on poisonous plants led to the display which can still be seen at Torre Abbey. The Abbey is also a spot along the Agatha Christie Mile.
Torquay Museum
The museum is another spot on the Agatha Christie Mile and is home to the UK’s only gallery dedicated entirely to Agatha Christie. There is even a recreation of Poirot’s study.
Kents Cavern
One of the best loved prehistoric cave systems in the UK, Kents Cavern is located on the outskirts of the town centre and has two connections to Agatha Christie – firstly, her father was one of the original funders to help excavate the Stone Age caves and secondly, it served as the inspiration behind Hampsley Cavern in The Man in the Brown Suit.
Cockington Court
Nearby is the chocolate box village of Cockington, full of thatched cottages and horse drawn carriages. The centrepiece of the village is Cockington Court, where you are welcome to sit on the grounds and enjoy a picnic in the summer months. Agatha would spent many afternoons at the grand mansion here as the family that lived there were friends with the Millers. It’s also a great place for having a traditional cream tea!
The Imperial Hotel
The Imperial Hotel has a wonderfully dramatic location overlooking the Torbay, which is likely why Agatha Christie used it as inspiration in so many of her novels. You can find its likeness in the Peril at End House, where it is called the Majestic; The Body in the Library and Sleeping Murder, where it keeps its name.
The Pavilion
It was after a concert at the Pavilion that Agatha accepted a marriage proposal from her first husband, Archibald Christie. It is another stop along the Agatha Christie Mile.
Torquay Town Hall
During WWI, Torquay Town Hall became a temporary Red Cross Hospital and Agatha worked there as an auxiliary nurse. This led to an interest in the profession and she trained and qualified in nursing after the war. Once she had her qualifications, she worked as a dispenser, which is where she first started learning about chemistry and poisons. While working as a dispenser, she began to write The Mysterious Affair at Styles, her first detective novel which features Poirot solving a murder by poison.
Grand Hotel
Another of Torquay’s Victorian hotels is the Grand Hotel, which is where Agatha and Archibald Christie spent their wedding night after getting married on Christmas Eve.
Greenway House
Now managed by the National Trust, Greenway near Brixham, was Agatha Christie’s holiday home. She moved away from Torquay in London with her first husband and after their divorce, she travelled the world with her second husband. She purchased Greenway in 1938 and the family spent many happy holidays there. She used it in several novels, including Dead Man’s Folly, Five Little Pigs. Towards Zero and Ordeal by Innocence.
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