Vanstone - A Master Builder in Torquay

This is a biography that sets out to map the history and accomplishments of perhaps the most influential and inventive of master builders and developers in the South Devon town of Torquay. The firm Thomas Vanstone & Sons was well known throughout the region, but while the name would be recognized by many, little is recorded collectively of the firm's beginnings and background, or the events that were instrumental for much of the success of this family run business. The Vanstone's most productive period was without doubt the early part of the twentieth century between the two world wars during which they involved themselves in a house building frenzy in an era often labelled "A golden age of building". The builder Thomas Vanstone & Sons was involved at various levels in the development of Torquay from the late nineteenth century during a Victorian period and onwards into the twentieth century and leading on to a sad closure in 1978. It is a remarkable fact that given the 100 years or so of its business cycle, little has been recorded of the firms principal characters or the events that helped drive this firm from its beginnings and through the developing years when struggling to establish a presence in the town, and then on to a period of real affluence between the two world wars. This account sets down some of the principal events and dates that marked the progression of the firm from the middle of the nineteenth century when the 30-year-old founder Thomas Vanstone had travelled from his birthplace in North Devon to establish a family home in the parish of Tor Mohun. The role played by the UK Government and Torquay Council in providing a bedrock on which Vanstone built not only houses but also their wealth is described. The Vanstone's were truly entrepreneurs in an era when knowing the right people was a prerequisite, no more so when they teamed up with other local businessmen to acquire one of the most significant Estates in The Town and steer through mass housing development. Pictures presented in the first publication of this book have been colourised in this 2026 update and present a more vivid and enjoyable experience.