Kevin Dixon: Eccentrics walk into history

 We all know that Torquay hosts a good number of ‘characters’, rule-breakers and, let’s be honest, cranks. This goes back a long way. Indeed, from our very beginnings as a resort, we had those who had an alternative take on life.
 
Two of those early pioneers of the eccentric were the Alphington Ponies.
 
These were the twins Arabella and Eliza Durnford. They were born on 30 December 1800, the daughters of Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Montague Isaacson Durnford and Barbara Ann Blake Shea.
 
Barbara Ann was the illegitimate daughter of Sir Patrick Blake by Peggy Shea, “a Mulatto woman, on Patrick’s plantation in the West Indies. For a time they lived in Alphington near Exeter, but then their father ran off with their governess. Arabella and Eliza were engaged to be married to two brothers but one of them accidentally shot the other one dead. The remaining brother reportedly died “from grief”.
 
The sisters then relocated to, where else, Torquay. There they lived with their mother in Lavender Cottage in Avenue Road, close to the Abbey’s Gates. As they had no servants, all three shared the housework which clearly identified their lowly social status to others.
 
When the two sisters arrived in Torquay from Alphington, they brought with them a pair of ponies. However, always financially embarrassed, they had to sell the beasts and the name of the Alphington Ponies then transferred to Arabella and Eliza.
 
It was during the 1840s that the two became associated with Torquay where they were described as being of “a very unique appearance”. They became local celebrities and can be seen in paintings of Torquay as well as ceramic collectables of the time.
 
Sabine Baring-Gould’s 1908 book ‘Devon Characters and Strange Events’ tells us:
 
“They had been pretty young girls and it is recorded that the sisters had a look of intelligence and the expression of their faces was most amiable and pleasing. Now they were so heavily made up that they looked like painted dolls.
 
“Their dress was most peculiar and the style only varied in ‘tone and colour’, their shoes were generally green but occasionally they were red. Their brown curly hair was fastened with blue ribbon and they wore straw or felt hats, which usually had tall crowns and the sides curled up. Around their necks they wore broad frilled or lace collars that fell down over their backs and chests for quite some way.
 
“They were never without their parasols either in summer or winter.”
 
It’s suggested that their heavy white make-up was an attempt to disguise their mixed-race heritage.
 
Shockingly for Victorian Torquay, they wore dresses above the ankle. As one contemporary gentleman explained, “They made themselves conspicuous by introducing the bloomer arrangement in the nether attitude. This, as you may suppose, was regarded as a scandal.”
 
Each day, at around three in the afternoon, the sisters would stroll along the Strand and Victoria Parade. They were always arm in arm, in step, and only speaking to each other. This became something of an attraction to both residents and visitors. 
 
They often got into debt and local shopkeepers soon found it wise to insist on receiving full payment before handing over any goods. At one court appearance, they explained to the judge,
 
“Oh Mr Praed, we cannot pay now, but my sister is about to be married to the Duke of Wellington, and then we shall be in funds and be able to pay for all we have had and likely to want”.
 
On another occasion, the siblings visited a shop and, after making a purchase, presented half of a £5 note. They would, they said, be pleased to settle the debt after they had received the other half. The shopkeeper, perhaps wisely, declined the offer.
 
Eliza died in 1866 and Isabella in 1871.
 
Though marginalised by Torquay Society, we still celebrate the two sisters.
 
Their walks are often replicated, while their contribution to the pantheon of eccentric locals is remembered in those Victorian souvenir ceramics.
 
Kevin Dixon is the author of ‘Torquay: A Social History’