The Gateway of Cornwall

Torpoint lies at the mouth of the river Tamar, Cornwall, opposite Devonport dockyard and the city of Plymouth. The river is crossed here by three chain ferries, which carry cars, buses, trucks and pedestrians across the 500 yard wide tidal estuary. Torpoint is the Gateway of South East Cornwall and the Rame peninsula.

The town was developed to provide housing for workers at the dockyard, and naval facilities were also built around the town. At one time the main route from Plymouth to Cornwall was across the ferry, but the opening of the Tamar Bridge north of the town, the decline of employment at the dockyard, and the reduction in Royal Navy facilities has seen the focus of the town shift towards providing local employment, as well as providing housing for workers in Plymouth.

Nearby Antony House (now in the ownership of the National Trust) is the seat of the Carew-Pole family, whose forebears were responsible for much of the early developement of the town in the eighteenth century. The house contains an extensive portrait collection, and the surrounding gardens and park, laid out by Repton offer delightful walks with vistas across the estuary.