Torquay Tourist Traps

Take a journey into the town's interesting past - find out more about local wildlife, famous people and Torquay through the ages. Don't miss the Agatha Christie Exhibition, including photographic material; look at life in the area during Christie's childhood; displays featuring films based on Christie novels; TV series Poirot and Miss Marple.

In the room is a dolls' house, with the toys of a Victorian childhood, long before computers & television became children's main amusement. It is a fine example, dating from the 1840s, still with its original floor & wall coverings. The items used to furnish the house span a long period, the first object being from 1843 & the latest from 1929. maybe one of the most outstanding items in the gallery is a blue silk embroidered coat, worn by a Chinese courtesan & given by Dr Charles Paget-Blake (a past President of the Torquay Natural History Society). Over 150 years old it still retains its beautiful embroidered patterns & striking colours. It sits alongside other objects from the Orient, which were obtained by Dr Paget-Blake when he served in China during the 1840s Opium Wars

One of the largest features of the Gallery is the huge collection of photographs & images of Agatha, her family, friends & the Torquay she knew. They trace Agatha's life from her childhood at Ashfield, right up to her old age at Greenway. They show a Torquay where life was very different from what you see today, from concerts at the Pavilion Theatre & afternoon tea at the Marine Spa, to roller-skating on the Princess Pier, & they give an insight into Agatha's upbringing. The photographs also portray Agatha's later life, particularly her beloved home Greenway, where she lived for many years with her second husband Max Mallowan.

The cases in the middle of the Gallery hold many bits & pieces & documents recounting to Agatha's books & plays. These contain some of her plays, written under the alias of Mary Westmacott. There is also a assortment of overseas adaptations of her novels (illustrating her worldwide appeal) and details on the adaptation of her novels for television. One of the cases has some poison bottles & a hypodermic. These were the type of objects Agatha would have come into contact with daily, when she was training as a dispensary assistant & which she used extensively in her mystery novels & plays as weapons of murder.

The personality of her most famous construction, Hercule Poirot, is examined in a case containing assorted pieces of Poirot ephemera, including one of the costumes worn by David Suchet in the acclaimed Granada television series, & there’s also on show a stiff collar & bow tie (typically Poirot) signed by Suchet.

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