We all know of
Torchwood! We all remember the Battle of
Canary Wharf between the Cybermen and the Daleks, we remember those who were
upgraded and those who fought to protect the Earth against the metal monsters
that threatened to destroy it. But what about
Torchwood, where did it come from, how did it start? We’re going to take you
right back to the moment the Institute began, from its very beginnings and take
you through its turbulent history, and the various leaders throughout the
years. We also uncover some interesting facts along the way.
So let’s start with the
beginning.
The History of Torchwood
began in 1879 during Queen Victoria’s reign, and after Prince Albert’s untimely
death, due to typhoid fever, the Queen took a trip to Scotland. Her initial journey was to take her to
Balmoral Castle, her usual retreat, but a tree on the railway track meant that
the Queen had to travel by horse and carriage, making the journey much longer,
and naturally would take her along the moors towards the MacLeish Estate upon
within ten miles of the house, she happened upon the 10th Doctor and
his companion Rose Tyler.
Prior to the Queen’s
arrival at Torchwood House, the staff of the Estate were taken hostage by the
brethren of the Glen of St Catherine, who had an important package to deliver
to the Queen upon her arrival. With the
staff and Lady Isobel MacLeish held hostage in the cellar, having already
caused the tree to fall on the line preventing the Queen’s journey to Balmoral
by train, the brethren lay in wait.
Their trap was set.
Rose and the Doctor were
meant to have been stepping out onto Sheffield soil in 1979 in time for an Ian
Drury concert, however due to the Doctor and his miscalculation, they were 100
years early and nowhere near Sheffield.
Following the royal entourage to Torchwood House they arrived at dusk
and were hesitantly welcomed by Sir Robert, the son of the late Sir George
MacLeish. Despite his attempts to
encourage the Queen back into her carriage for the journey further north, the
Queen insisted on remaining, after spending far too long travelling.
The Queen had heard many
accounts of Endeavour at Torchwood House, the telescope in the Observatory and
wished to see it for herself. It was
most certainly a large telescope and the largest of its kind. The Doctor wasn’t sure what to make of it,
other than calling it rubbish, for a telescope!
After supper, Sir
Robert, prompted by Queen Victoria, began to tell the company at the dinner
table the tales of the supernatural, the myths and legends of the wolf.
Sir Robert began his
story that dated back 300 years.
“...every
full moon the howling rings through the valley.
The next morning livestock would be reported ripped apart, devoured.... Sometimes
a child goes missing. Once in a
generation a boy will vanish from his homestead....
Drawings and wood carvings...it’s not a
wolf, it’s more than that, this is a man who becomes an animal.”
In the basement, along
with the staff and the Lady of the house, Rose Tyler and a young house maid,
Flora, who had been caught out in the corridor upon finding the royal guards
asleep on the floor, are made aware of the cage across the large cellar. The creature is shrouded in a hooded cloak,
but as the outer doors are opened, and it feels the moonlight, it begins to
change, and transform into the werewolf they all fear.
Rose not wishing to be
its next meal encourages the staff and the Lady, to pull on the chain link
secured against the wall to release them all, and joint effort they succeed
just as the Doctor and Sir Robert enter the cellar and discover the werewolf
for themselves. Up in the dining room,
having realised that the butler is none other than Father Angelo of the
monastery, and that he wants the royal throne, is shot dead by Queen Victoria,
who after six attempted assassinations is now more than ever capable of dealing
with threats to her life.
As the men staff gather
weapons to shoot the werewolf, the women staff head to the kitchen and try and
escape, but the doors are sealed and the monks stand sentry wearing mistletoe
about their necks. Seeing this, Lady
Isobel realises that this is what is keeping them alive, for in the kitchen as
she huddles in a corner with her maids all about her, expecting to be devoured
by the werewolf, is still alive due to the overpowering scent of the mistletoe
that lay on the ground and on the table.
The Doctor with Rose,
the royal guard who had regained consciousness, Sir Robert and the Queen, who
carried with her the Koh I Nor, took the central Grand Staircase up to the
library. It was there that the Doctor
discovered that something was preventing the werewolf from doing everything in
its power to gain access to the room.
All the wood around the
walls, even the coat of arms bearing a wreath of mistletoe, is coated with the
oil of the mistletoe, painted on so thickly that it forms a barrier and a
deterrent to the wolf, which, given that the monks were opposed to the
investigations by Sir George that perhaps he had seen for himself what
protected the brethren from being slaughtered by the creature.
As with most houses, the
name Torchwood comes from the timbers used for the central Great Staircase in
the Torchwood House. The timbers came
from the North American torchwood tree Burseraceae family, called Amyris elemifera. The tree can reach heights of 25ft to 39ft and
its fruit feeds many finches and small birds.
It’s a popular tree in Florida providing a home for the Swallowtail
butterflies.
The Doctor also realised
that as much as the trap had been set by the brethren for the Queen, that in
fact, the brethren had also been trapped by Sir George and Prince Albert. It was a trap within a trap.
Knowing how much Prince
Albert and Sir George were friends, the plan to trap the wolf had taken a
considerable amount of time and money, but given the investigations, and the
funding, it seemed to have paid off.
When the Doctor having realised that the telescope was not for star gazing
but was in fact a light telescope, that didn’t require electricity but was
powered by the moon, sought to set it before the werewolf burst through the
door.
As the wolf entered, the
Doctor slid the diamond into place, the light amplified and hit the wolf,
throwing it away from the queen and elevated mid way between floor and ceiling.
The host changed from
wolf to man, it begged the light to be made brighter, to let it go. The Doctor did so and the wolf howled before
dispersing in moonlight.
As the light faded and
the room returned to normal the queen seemed mesmerised by a cut to her
arm. She told the Doctor that it was
merely a splinter but didn’t wish for the Doctor to view it. She seemed almost pleased by it.
After Rose and the
Doctor were knighted for their services against the werewolf, the Queen
banished the Doctor, exiling him from the Empire, never to return.
The Doctor later told
Rose, after they were returned to the TARDIS that Queen Victoria was the first
carrier of haemophilia in Britain’s royal family. Her Mum and Dad didn’t have it, nor did her
ancestors. Only her children Beatrice
and Alice, and her son Leopold who died from it. Perhaps it was more than just a scratch...
On the eve of her
departure from Torchwood House for Balmoral, Queen Victoria enquired after Lady
Isobel’s plans for the Estate. After the
death of her husband at the hands and teeth of the werewolf, Lady Isobel had no
desire to remain at the Estate.
Queen Victoria, casting
a glance back made plans.
“I propose
an institute to investigate these strange happenings and to fight them. I will call it Torchwood. The Torchwood Institute! And if this Doctor should return then he
should beware because Torchwood will be waiting!”
Research and Photo
acknowledgements
©BBC Doctor Who 1963
Tooth & Claw episode
featuring 10th Doctor and Rose Tyler
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burseraceae http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_burseraceae.php http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_burseraceae.php
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