Kevin Dixon: Caring for the vulnerable in Torbay

In April 1901 Edward Manley, a 47-year-old porter of Torquay’s Stentiford’s Hill, was summonsed to explain how his mother Maria Dunn, aged 73, had died.

Edward was asked, “Why did you allow her to lie there and die like a dog without seeing anyone? How is it that the place was in such a state of filth and not fit for a human being to live in?”

Edward and Maria lived together in a two-roomed tenement and occupied the same bedroom. The mother had died sitting in an easy chair, having been there for a fortnight. When Dr Dixon Cook was called to the house, he said he had never seen a place so filthy. The son was there, but he was so begrimed with dirt that witnesses “thought he was a foreigner”. 

Maria was found covered with an old shawl; the remainder of the body was naked. The only other furniture was a bed and a couch.  It was recorded that, “The son appeared to be a very weak-minded sort of a chap who would do just what his mother told him without considering his responsibility in the least”. A verdict of ‘Natural Causes’ was reached. 

Both Maria and Edward were clearly vulnerable. But there was little support in Victorian Torquay for those needing help, or for their Carers, in their struggle for survival, recognition, and respect. All care for the elderly and disabled was assumed to be the responsibility of the family.

The past can be a cruel place that we choose to forget, preferring sanitised movie and TV versions of our history.

The tragic truth is that few of those born with obvious disabilities lived for long. The household’s survival took precedence over the interests of individuals, with all required to be a productive part of the family. Hence, infanticide was a widespread practice used to dispose of unwanted children. As still-births were only registered after 1926 this was how such killings were often concealed.

Before the nineteenth century there was scant government involvement in ordinary people’s everyday lives. If the family couldn’t or wouldn’t help, the aged, sick, disabled and destitute relied on handouts from the wealthy and the church, or they received meagre outdoor relief.

Nineteenth century attitudes towards illness and disability continued the mixture of fear, pity, and discomfort, alongside the notion of divine judgement. Nevertheless, growing concerns about rising levels of poverty did lead to the 1834 Poor Law which replaced locally organised support with a centralised system, though it also banned any outdoor relief. In 1836 the Newton Abbot Poor Law Union was then established covering 36 parishes, including Cockington, St Marychurch, and Tormoham (Torre).

The Act also built workhouses where all those in dire need could be confined.  

Workhouses were made deliberately unwelcoming and harsh. They needed to be as conditions were often so awful in Devon’s towns and villages with disease and starvation commonplace.

Workhouses were a last resort and consequently even the starving and dying avoided them. People with learning disabilities and those living with dementia, of course, had no choice and were forcibly admitted, though they were often recorded as being too weak and challenging to adhere to the strict rules.

We know about the harshness of the regime as in 1894 there was an investigation into practices at Newton Abbot’s Workhouse where witnesses described abuse in filthy wards infested with vermin.

Workhouses were only officially abolished in 1929.

As Torquay grew, aid did begin to arrive as charities were formed and philanthropists took action, the predecessors of the Bay’s hundreds of present-day voluntary organisations: Torquay’s Freemasons were founded in 1810, for example, the Oddfellows in 1856, and the Foresters in 1858.

The 2021 Census, though already out-of-date, informs us that in Brixham, Paignton and Torquay caring responsibilities are disproportionately undertaken by women. 13% of females and 9% of males in the Bay are Carers, with over 1 in 5 women between 50 and 64 years performing some unpaid care.

In part, this is the legacy of the nineteenth century transition from household and agricultural production to paid labour in the Bay’s villas, hotels and service industries. In the new resort economy it was more difficult for women with dependents to combine household duties with wage earning. There was also better-paid work for men, so it made more sense for married women to withdraw from waged work.

By the early twentieth century care of those in need was regarded as the concern of the state. This was largely institutional in nature, however, with individuals living in often overcrowded and understaffed residential facilities. Following the Second World War, the National Health Service was established, providing free healthcare to all. This marked a shift in the provision of care, with a greater emphasis on community-based welfare services.

The later twentieth century saw a further move away from institutional care, with a growing recognition of the importance of enabling individuals to live in their own homes and of supporting and empowering Carers.

This approach was further promoted through the 2014 Care Act which recognised unpaid Carers in law in the same way as those they care for. Carers now have a right to a carers assessment covering support needs, support planning, and access to information and advice to enable choice about the support they need.

The Census asked residents if they gave any help or support to someone, perhaps an adult relative or friend because they have physical or mental health conditions or illnesses. It found that there were over 14,900 unpaid Carers in Torbay. This equates to 1 in 9 of the population; a significantly higher proportion compared to the rest of the nation.  5,185 of these Carers provided 50 hours or more of unpaid care.

That need is rising, largely as we are now living far longer than we used to. During the nineteenth century life expectancy at birth was about 42, and more than 25 per cent of children died before their fifth birthday. Even during the 1950s life expectancy was only 66 for men and 70 for women.

A boy and girl born in Torbay in the early 2020s now have a life expectancy of 78 and 83 years respectively.

Alongside being a tourist destination, our three towns have always appealed to the retired incomer and so we now have an older age profile than the rest of the nation; an average age of 49 years compared to the UK’s 40 years.

27% of Torbay residents are aged 65 and over. By 2035 one in three Torbay residents will have reached that age; this is already the case in Wellswood, Churston, Galmpton, Furzeham, and Summercombe.

And that remarkable longevity frequently requires specialist age-related responses to often unavoidable, but sometimes preventable, health and social care needs. Indeed, we are already seeing an increase in the numbers of family Carers and in how long those caring responsibilities last.

In the Torbay of 2025, we can be confident that Maria and Edward would be identified, recognised as being in need, and supported by a range of statutory agencies and the voluntary sector. We further hope that friends and neighbours would be there to lend a helping hand.  But we should always remember that it has been a long journey to where we are today. High-quality services must be established, resourced and consistently improved as society evolves; while Carers and caring communities need to be nurtured and empowered.

To quote the first lady of the United States, Rosalyn Carter, “There are only four kinds of people in the world. Those who have been caregivers. Those who are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver.”

This year Carers Rights Day is about providing everyone who attends with information and advice that is personalised to their caring situation and circumstances. It is being held on Saturday 22nd of November, 10am to 2pm at Paignton Library.

The latest Torbay Carer’s Signposts Newsletter is at:

https://www.torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/uploads/signposts-autumn-2025.pdf