The Hills and Valleys of Torquay; A Study in Valley-Development and an Explanation of Local Scenery

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1907. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER VII. The Eastern Valleys. Contents.--The Ellacombe Valley. The Torwood Valley. The Bishopstowe And Ilsham Valleys; Ansteys Cove. The Formation Of Kents Cavern. The Meadfoot Combe. The country to the east of the Upton and Fleet valley is drained by several short valleys or combes, some of which present peculiar features and reveal a curious history. Two of these combes drain westward and open into the Fleet valley; one empties itself at the present time into Ansteys Cove, and the last, or Ilsham valley, opens directly into Torbay. The first of these vales is Ellacombe, which is an oval basin-shaped depression lying between Plainmoor on the north, Warberry Hill on the south, and a spur of this hill on the east. From the inward slopes of these hills the rainfall is directed into the hollow of Ellacombe, the eastern part of which has a retentive subsoil of shaly slate. There is also a strong spring at the bottom of the valley opposite the Ellacombe Brewery, and all the water issuing from this is now conducted to the Brewery, though formerly it ran freely down the valley. Westward there is a tract of limestone (see map, Fig. 9), and through this the watercourse passes along the depression which runs between Princes Eoad and Alexandra Eoad, but at the present time the actual watercourse is a covered drain. Thence the original valley-floor seems to have passed below Ellacombe Green at a depth of 20 feet below the existing surface, for it is recorded in White's History of Torquay that Ellacombe has undergone a remarkable change; the valley has been filled up more than 20 feet and now forms Ellacombe Green, while a new town with its church, chapel, and schools has taken the place of fields and gardens (op. cit. p. 196). Consequently, in trying to realize the fe...