fateful night 16 years earlier and in the following year two more skeletons were unearthed in the town. Torquay's golden age (late 19th century) With the town becoming increasingly popular amongst the rich and privileged of Europe it started attracting more prestigious visitors, the Russian Romanoff noble family built themselves a private holiday home in the town called the Villa Syracusa (now The Headland Hotel) at which they would often entertain. While the Romanoff family was in residence, they entertained the Russian Royal Family at the Villa. During their absences, the villa was often let privately. In August 1864 the Prince of Wales visited the Grand Duchess Maria of Russia while she was staying at the Villa Syracusa, amongst her party staying at the villa was the Count Gregoire Stroganoff and Countess Alexandra Tolstoy, the daughter of noted novelist Leo Tolstoy. On 31 July 1850 Prince and Princess Peter of Oldenburg, their five children and retinue arrived in Torquay by express train, having first been received at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, by their cousin, Queen Victoria. Prince Peter of Oldenburg was also a cousin of the Russian Tsar Alexander II and was widely known as a great philanthropist and patron of many hospitals in Russia. As such, he was invited to lay the foundation stone of the new Torbay Infirmary (later Torbay Hospital) at Union Street, Torquay. Following a service at Upton Church, the ceremony took place on Saturday 24 August 1850, and the architect, Mr Harvey, presented the Prince with an 'elegant silver trowel with handle of Torquay Madrepore' before the 'massive stone was lowered by machinery into place'. The Royal party stayed at Villa Borghese [the first Italianate villa to be built in Torquay], Higher Lincombe Road until 11 September 1850. An historic Blue Plaque was unveiled at the Villa Borghese by Torbay Civic Society on 31 July 2014. The Imperial Hotel also accommodated many famous guests during this period, including Emperor Napoleon III of France, the Queen of the Netherlands and King Edward VII. Benjamin Disraeli was a prominent visitor to the resort through his political career. After the railway came to Torquay in 1859 many new villas were built in the Torre area. One of the earliest was Howden Court constructed in 1860. Growth slowed up in the 1870s and 1880s, mainly because the upper classes, for whom Torquay catered to the exclusion of all