Ian Handford: How Torquay lost it's most 'amazing philanthropist'

Having refused an invitation to stand as the Divisional Member of Parliament for Torquay, Fred instead became a member of Torquay Council.

Later, while chairing a meeting, he announced that he would leave the area if the council ever adopted a motion proposing the introduction of tramways – an idea he and others on the council strongly opposed. They believed tramways would negatively impact the town centre and the Strand, making the area feel “too common”.

Like others, Fred believed that tramways would demean a resort that called itself the Queen of Watering Places and then, more officially, the Queen of the English Riviera. To him, trams represented a step backward.

Meanwhile, Fred was a huge philanthropist for our town, taking an active part in Torquay’s social life.

He was involved with the Torquay Yacht Club, the Rowing Club and the Swimming Club. Together with his wife, Mabel, they served as patrons of the newly formed Torre Cycling Club and were close friends with the Miller family.

Both families shared an international background—Frederick Miller being American, while Fred Struben was born in South Africa.

They met regularly, and Fred and Mabel would have known both their daughters and son: daughters Madge and Agatha Mary Clarissa (later known as Agatha Christie) and their brother Monty when he was home from boarding school.

The Millers’ home, Ashfield, was large, with huge grounds on Barton Road. Later, long after they left, Ashfield was demolished by the council to make way for flats, though the now- famous novelist Agatha Christie was never informed that her birth home had been sold and demolished. So outraged by its loss, she never visited Torquay again, preferring her alternative new home at Greenway in Galmpton—now one of the National Trust’s most visited properties.

Fred also played a role in the Torquay Primrose League. As poignantly reported in the Torquay Times in August 1899:

"Under the auspices of the Torquay Habitation of the Primrose League – a most successful tea and meeting for residents of the Torwood Strand and the Waldon Wards held in the grounds of Mr and Mrs Struben's delightful residence "Kya Lami" on Lincombe Hill" last Wednesday afternoon. More than three hundred members of the League attended and were offered the opportunity to tour Struben's well-stocked conservatories, which contained many rare flowers and specimens from around the world.”

That proposal for tramways became fact, and they were officially opened on April 4, 1907, by the council. As Fred had vowed, he quickly put Kya Lami on the market. When it failed to sell at auction, he leased the property and moved with his family to Spitchwick Manor on Dartmoor, which he had purchased.

Having already lost their six-year-old son, John, they later lost their second son, Leicester, who was killed in action near the end of the First World War. Fred himself lived until September 7, 1931, passing away at the age of 80. He left behind his wife and children, and his gravestone, inscribed Frederick Pine Theophilus Struben JP, can still be found online.

The final time Stuben's name was found was when the new owners of Wylam House contacted me and Torbay Civic Society to see if a Blue Plaque could be appropriate honouring Field Marshall Viscount Herbert Plumer – yet another famous man of Torquay I had not researched.

After securing permission from the TYC Committee, the plaque was formally unveiled on September 1, 2019, by the Worshipful Mayor and Chairman of Torbay Council, Margaret Douglas-Dunbar, along with her escort, Mrs Christine Carter. The event was attended by a large gathering, including our hosts, Mr and Mrs G and C Berg. Now a second Blue Plaque to Mr Struben JP will be unveiled at Wylam House, likely later this year.