Torre Abbey Historic House and Gallery

A house has stood on this site, a little over a mile from the coast, for more than 800 years and during its 18th century Cary family ownership was remodelled into a more than fashionable country house. Sadly, the original contents of the house were auctioned in the middle of the 19th century and again during World War I.

The present day art collection is for the most part the result of gifts or bequests made by locals since 1930, when Torquay Council purchased Torre Abbey from the Cary family and turned it into an art gallery. The Abbey has paintings from most periods and is above all well stocked with 19th century works. The Abbey’s ambition is to concentrate its collection on 18th, 19th and 20th century landscape, marine and genre paintings by British artists. These largely focus local areas of south Devon and its coastal waters and of course ideally on works by local artists.