In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described St Mary Church like this:
MARYCHURCH (ST.), a village and a parish iN Newton-Abbot district, Devon. The village overlooks Babbicombe bay, 1½ mile E by N of Torre r. station, and 1½ N by E of Torquay; is a large place, built chiefly of marble rock, and containing many genteel houses and marine Villas; resembles Torquay in the style of its buildings, and may be regarded as suburban to that town; attracts summer visitors for sea-bathing and for yachting; and has a post office‡ under Torquay, several good inns, a coast-guard station, and bathing-machines. ...
The parish contains also the hamlets of Babbicombe, Barton, Comb-Pafford, Edginswell, Shiphay-Collaton, and Watcombe. Acres, 2,589. Real property, £14,182; of which £120 are in quarries. Pop. in 1851,2,293; in 1861,3,231. Houses, 618. The increase of pop. arose from improvements by land-proprietors, and from advantages for the erection of houses. The property is much subdivided. The manor of St. Marychurch belongs to R. S. Carey, Esq.; and that of Comb-Pafford, to Sir Lawrence Palk. The surface, particularly along the coast, abounds in features of interest. Three chief objects are noticed in the articles BABBICOMBE, ANSTIs COvE, and KENTS HOLE. Famous marble quarries, with remarkable formation of limestone rock, and with profusion of beautiful fossils, are at Petit Tor. A broken piece of ground, encircled by fantastic red cliffs, at Watcombe, marks the results of a romantic landslip. The living is a vicarage, united with the vicarage of Coffinswell, in the diocese of Exeter. Value, £270.* Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. The church stands on high ground; serves as a landmark to mariners; is partly an old building with a tower; and recently was, in great measure, rebuilt, at a cost of about £.6,000. A chapel of ease, called the Free church, stands at Furrough-Cross. The vicarage of Babbicombe is a separate benefice. There are chapels for Baptists and Wesleyans, national schools, and charities £5.
St Mary Church through time
St Mary Church is now part of Torbay district. Click here for graphs and data of how Torbay has changed over two centuries. For statistics about St Mary Church itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of St Mary Church, in Torbay and Devon | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/4293
Date accessed: 24th April 2024
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