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Local Information for Torpoint

Torpoint is a town in the far South East of Cornwall, England, separated from the City of Plymouth by a stretch of water referred to as the Hamoaze, which itself is the mouth of the River Tamar. It is on the Rame Peninsula.

It is a common tale that Torpoint's name is derived from Tar Point, a name given because of the initial industry on the west bank of the Hamoaze. However this is actually a nickname given by workers, torpoint meaning prominant/rocky point in dialect.

Wooden ships used to have their hulls waterproofed using tar. To facilitate this, a square ballast pond was built in the estuary with an entrance port on one side. A ship would enter the ballast pond and be tied to one wall. Then on the low tide, the ship would lean on one side to allow the tarring. On the next tide, the ship would be tied to the opposite wall to complete the job.

Torpoint was established by Sir Richard Carew-Pole in the Parish of Anthony in 17xx.

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