in 1888 with a rugby match between Torquay Athletic and local rivals Newton Abbot. Then in 1889 the Winter Gardens were built to provide entertainment for winter holidaymakers. Its cast-iron and glass structure could seat up to 1,000 people for the concerts held by an Italian band, and also featured three tennis courts and a bowling alley. However, the Winter Gardens were not very successful and in 1903 the building was sold to Great Yarmouth. The structure was shipped by barge from Torquay without the loss of a single pane of glass and is still in use today (including a brief period during the 1990s as a night club, under the management of comedian Jim Davidson). The Victorian walls of the base are still in their original position in Torquay, and are now the walls of the bar (griffin Bar) open to the public under the Yardley Manor Hotel, Now owned by the Thorogood Family on Museum Road. Crime writer Agatha Christie was born in the town on 15 September 1890, and was christened at All Saints Church, Bamfylde Rd, Torre on 20 October 1890. She based many of her novels in a thinly-veiled version of Torquay. In 1892 two events took place which radically changed both the appearance and outlook of Torquay: through trains were introduced, and Torquay was granted borough status by a Royal Charter, adopting the motto Salus et Felicitas (Health and Happiness). The town was now ready for expansion and to start building a new image, the healthy were encouraged to come as well as the ailing and the Victorian watering place soon transformed into a holiday resort. In 1899 the town acquired its first professional sports team with the founding of Torquay United Football Club by a group of school leavers under the guidance of Sergeant-Major Edward Tomney. After a season of friendly matches the club joined the East Devon League and moved into the Recreation Ground, their home for the next four years. They went on to join the Football League in 1927. Early 20th century The early part of the new century saw a change in the character of the town: in 1902 the first advertising campaign to bring healthy visitors to Torquay, rather than people recovering from illnesses was launched and Torquay changed from being a winter holiday resort to being a summer holiday resort aimed at families from the industrial Midlands