DISCOVER PAIGNTON

Paignton is a coastal town on the English Riviera, located immediately to the south of Torquay in the county of Devon in the United Kingdom. Over the years Paignton and Torquay have grown into each other, and together with Brixham (to the south) they form the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998. Paignton's population in the United Kingdom Census of 2001 was 47,398.


TOURISM IN PAIGNTON

Paignton's economy relies heavily on tourism and the town is marketed as an ideal location for family holidays. During the summer, the long red sandy beach is packed with tourists eating ice cream and fish and chips. Paignton beach and the nearby Preston Sands are used for water sports such as wind and kite surfing, as well as dinghy sailing.

Paignton Pier and the multiscreen Apollo Cinema are the largest attractions in the sea front area adjacent to Paignton Green, where Anderton and Rowland's funfair visits every summer during Paignton Regatta week. During the peak summer period there are many special events including firework displays and often an appearance from the Red Arrows RAF display team.

The seafront and harbour area contains numerous pubs and night clubs, and there is a wide range of restaurants in the town. The town also contains a wide range of hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation.

Paignton Zoo, one of the largest zoos in Britain, is situated on the outskirts of the town.

The Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway is a popular attraction, operating steam trains from Paignton to Kingswear, from where a ferry can be taken across the River Dart to Dartmouth. The line was closed by British Rail during the cutbacks of the Beeching era in the 1960s, and is operated today as a heritage railway line.


TRANSPORT

Paignton railway station is situated close the shops and a short walk from the beach along Torbay Road. Queen's Park Station for the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway is adjacent to the main railway station on the beach side of the level crossing. The bus and coach station faces the main entrance to the railway station.


HISTORY OF PAIGNTON

Paignton (previously spelt 'Peynton', but based on the older Paiga's or Paega's town after the Celtic founder) appears in records dating back to the eleventh century. Until the nineteenth century, it was a small fishing village. During the expansion that took place in the nineteenth century, a new harbour was constructed according to the Paington Harbour Act of 1837 (Paington is another spelling which was in use at the time). The historic part of Paignton is centred around Church Street, Winner Street and Palace Avenue and contains many fine examples of Victorian architecture. Kirkham House is a late medieval stone house restored in the 1960s which is open to the public at certain times of year. The Coverdale Tower is named after Bishop Miles Coverdale, who published an English translation of the Bible in 1536 and was the last Bishop to occupy the tower as a residence.

The railway link to Paignton was built by the Torbay and Dartmouth Railway and was opened to passengers on 2 August 1859. This connected Torbay with London and the region became a popular tourist destination for rich Londoners.

Since then the rise of tourism has fuelled an even greater expansion which led to Paignton effectively merging with the adjacent coastal villages of Goodrington and Preston. Oldway Mansion, formerly the home of the Singer family (of sewing machine fame) lies between Preston and Paignton, and now acts as the local council offices and the meeting place of Torbay Council.

Other Singer legacies in Paignton include the Palace Hotel and the Inn On The Green, both of which were homes for Isaac Singer's sons, and Paignton Green itself, which was used as a runway for their private aircraft. Paignton Green is also where the young Torquay-born novelist Dame Agatha Christie helped tend the wounds of allied Belgian and Japanese soldiers during the Great War of 1914 to 1918. It is believed that the inspiration for her literary creation Hercule Poirot came from a Belgian captain that she met during this period.


LOCAL TRIVIA

• Sue Barker, the television presenter and former professional tennis player, was born in Paignton on 19 April 1956. During her tennis career she won the women's singles title at the French Open in 1976 and reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3.

• The Torbay Picture House (now closed) is believed to be Europe's oldest purpose-built cinema and was built in 1907. Seat 2 Row 2 of the circle was the favourite seat of crime novelist Agatha Christie, who lived in neighbouring Torquay. The cinemas and theatres in her books are all reportedly based on the Torbay Picture House. It was also used as a location for the 1984 Donald Sutherland film Ordeal by Innocence and the 1981 film The French Lieutenant's Woman (which was filmed mainly at Lyme Regis in Dorset). Student film makers have also used it as a location.

• The Royal Bijou Theatre is now demolished but a blue plaque marking its former location can be found next to the Going Places travel agency in Hyde Road. The Royal Bijou Theatre was the venue for the first ever performance of The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan on 30 December 1879. The performance was given at short notice in order to secure the copyright on the work after problems had arisen with unauthorised performances of HMS Pinafore in the USA.

• The mathematician Oliver Heaviside lived in what is now Barclays Bank in Palace Avenue from 1889 to 1897, and there is a blue plaque on the building to commemorate this. He is buried in Paignton Cemetery.

• Paignton is the location of the annual national exhibition for waste management in the United Kingdom. The exhibition has taken place in Paignton every June since the 1970s. The exhibition is the largest of its kind in the world and is staged by the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management.

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