The Haunting of Torre Abbey and the Spanish BarnIn addition to being the oldest structure in Torquay, Torre Abbey is also the best-preserved medieval monastery in Devon and Cornwall.
Torre Abbey in Devon is not only the oldest building in Torquay, but it is also the best-preserved mediaeval monastery in Devon and Cornwall. The abbey was built in 1196 by the White Canons or canons of the Premonstratensian order. It grew and prospered until the 15th century when it was the richest monastery in the country for the order.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s, the abbey was converted into a private property. The Cary family purchased it in 1662 and kept it for over three centuries.
They constructed a splendid Georgian mansion to the ancient structure, creating a magnificent and dignified residence. In 1930, the city government purchased the property and converted it into an art gallery and museum. However, as the twenty-first century approached, surveyors discovered that the structure was at risk of collapse, demanding immensely costly repairs. In 2005, the property was closed for three years while a renovation project was ongoing. As a result, more of the historic monastery was revealed.
As a result, several of the abbey's early sections were made public for the first time since its reopening, allowing visitors to learn about the foundation's origins.
Any structure with over 800 years of history at its ancient heart is certain to have one or two resident ghosts, but Torre Abbey goes one better and has three!
The first ghost can be traced back to the 1300s when one of its abbots murdered a young canon and then attempted to conceal his wicked acts. The murdered cleric's headless spirit is said to ride around the grounds on his phantom mount, unable to find rest.
The magnificent, mediaeval Tithe Barn, often known as the "Spanish Barn," is the location of the abbey's most well-known spectral activity. This was originally built to contain the tithes, or taxes, paid to the abbey by the people in the form of crops and other agricultural goods.
Sir Francis Drake imprisoned 397 crew members aboard the Spanish flagship "Nuestra Senora del Rosario" in 1588, the same year the Spanish Armada attempted to invade England. One of them was the fiancee of one of the ship's lieutenants; she had pretended to be a sailor since she knew she would be taken soon and did not want to be separated from her beloved. She was hauled ashore with the other captives and confined in the barn for two weeks. The young senorita developed a fever and died as a result of the claustrophobic and dreadful surroundings. Since then, the ghost of the "Spanish Lady" has been silently sobbing to herself as she roams the barn and surrounding region in search of her long-lost love.
The third phantom is the smiling ghost of Lady Cary, a former mistress of the home. She is said to be driven around the grounds of her old house by a ghostly driver in a brightly illuminated coach, dressed in exquisite ball gown.
The luxurious interior of Torre Abbey is a historical excursion worth taking. There's no need to be concerned if you see a headless clergyman riding by on his steed, a smiling woman racing by in a beautifully lit carriage, or the wailing screams of a lonely senorita carried by the night breezes. Because, as the phantom Spanish Lady may confirm, worse things happen at sea.
