Torre Abbey Historic House and Gallery

Established in 1196, Torre Abbey is a museum of history and art housed in an Ancient Scheduled Monument with beautiful and award winning gardens.

Based in Torquay on the stunning English Riviera, this family friendly Torbay Council owned museum and gardens is a centre for creativity and culture – with a seasonal programme of exhibitions, events and activities across visual arts, history and live performance.

Rapidly growing as the Bay’s key cultural hub, Torre Abbey Museum is where world class exhibitions are shown side by side with creative work from local emerging talent.

The Abbey is a real hive of activity which ranges from comedy nights in the chapel to outdoor cinema in the ruins, and theatre performances in the house and around the grounds. We don’t stop there, the Abbey is also a beautiful setting for weddings, a great space for workshops and the perfect venue for school visits.

Our all-year rolling exhibition programme has three headline shows. The Abbey’s team work with regional, national and international partners to bring the very best of contemporary and high profile work to the museum, making sure there is always something new to see and do.

Specially curated exhibitions complement the museum’s permanent collection which includes regionally important art, with some nationally important works – most notably those by William Holman Hunt, William Blake and Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones.

The collection also houses finds from the Abbey site some discovered during restoration projects. Our 800 hundred years of history gallery explores local history, heritage and stories through interactive displays, talking portraits and videos.

Torre Abbey is also home to the now bi-annual International Agatha Christie Festival and the annual Grinagog Festival of the Arts.