Sidmouth

Sidmouth beach in 1924

The origins of Sidmouth pre-date recorded history. The Sid valley has been in human occupation since at least the Iron Age as attested by the presence of Sidbury Castle, and possibly earlier given the presence of Bronze Age burial mounds on Gittisham Hill [1] and Broad Down.[2] The village of Sidbury itself is known to be Saxon in origin with the Church crypt dating to the seventh century. However, the Sid Valley was divided into two ecclesiastical land holdings, with Sidbury and Salcombe Regis being gifted by King Athelstan to Exeter Cathedral, and Sidmouth, which was part of the manor of Otterton, was gifted by Gytha Thorkelsdóttir (the mother of King Harold Godwinson) to the Benedictines at Mont-Saint-Michel.[3]

Sidmouth appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Sedemuda, meaning "mouth of the Sid".[4] Like many such settlements, it was originally a fishing village.

By the 1200s, Sidmouth had expanded to become a market town of similar size to Sidbury and generating more income for the abbot of Mont-Saint-Michel than Otterton. By this time, Sidmouth already had a parish church, as the Otterton Cartulary refers to a grant of 30 acres of land to Guilielmas, the vicar in Sidmouth, as a glebe, and excavations in 2009 during the remodelling of the parish church revealed foundations dating from that time. It is likely that the church was already dedicated to St Giles, as the annual fair was held on his feast day 1 September.[3] According to one of the many blue plaques found around Sidmouth, not far from the church was a chapel dedicated to St Peter built sometime before 1322, the remaining wall of which is now part of Dukes Hotel.[5]

During the 14th century, Sidmouth enjoyed a degree of prosperity from the wine trade and, as part of the manor of Otterton, was transferred by King Henry V from Mont-Saint-Michel to Syon Abbey. King Henry VIII confiscated it again during the dissolution of the monasteries and sold it off, whereafter it changed hands several times before being acquired by the Mainwaring baronets, whose family provided two of the vicars of Sidmouth parish.[3]

Although attempts have been made to construct a harbour, none has succeeded. A lack of shelter in the bay prevented the town's growth as a port. Despite this, a part of the town is known as 'Port Royal' which is likely due to the town's having provided two ships and 67 men to King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War with which to attack Calais.[6] The most concerted effort was a short-lived attempt in the 1830s at the west of the seafront; this included the construction of the Sidmouth Harbour Railway along the seafront and into a tunnel at the cliffs to the east that would have transported stone from Hook Ebb. Only a few traces of the railway and tunnel survive today.[7]

According to one of the Sid Vale Association Blue Plaques, a fort was built in Sidmouth in 1628, due to fear of a French invasion or naval attack, on the part of the seafront that is known as 'Fortfield' and which is now the cricket pitch.[8]

Another of the Blue Plaques of the Sid Vale Association, confirms that the Old Ship pub (now a Costa Coffee) had operated as a tavern in Sidmouth since the 1400s and was used by smugglers.[8] The infamous Jack Rattenbury, who was born nearby in Beer, Devon operated in the area, and was known to associate with the Mutter family of Ladram Bay (after whom Mutter's Moor on Peak Hill overlooking Sidmouth is named).[6][9]

Sidmouth remained a village until the fashion for coastal resorts grew in the Georgian and Victorian periods of the 18th and 19th centuries. A number of Georgian and Regency buildings still remain.[10] In 1819, George III's son Edward, Duke of Kent, his wife, and baby daughter (the future Queen Victoria) came to stay at Woolbrook Glen for a few weeks. In less than a month he had died of pneumonia. The house later became the Royal Glen Hotel; a plaque on an exterior wall records the visit.[11] Sidmouth was connected to the railway network in 1874, by a branch line from Sidmouth Junction, which from there called at Ottery St Mary and Tipton St John. This was dismantled in 1967 as a result of the Beeching Axe.[12]

In 2008, Canadian millionaire Keith Owen, who had been on holiday in the town and planned to retire there, bequeathed about £2.3 million to the community's civic society, the Sid Vale Association, upon learning that he had only weeks to live due to lung cancer.[13] The bequest was used as a capital fund to generate an annual interest dividend of around £120,000 for community projects.[14]

At the 2011 census the population was 12,569, with a median age of 59.[15]

Sidmouth from Salcombe Hill

Sidmouth lies at the mouth of the River Sid in a valley between Peak Hill to the west and Salcombe Hill to the east. It is surrounded by the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site, and the South West Coast Path. The red-coloured rock indicates the arid conditions of the Triassic geological period.

Erosion of the cliffs to the east of the river mouth threatens homes and the coastal footpath, and is a serious concern.[16][17]

The wide esplanade has been a prominent feature since Regency times. A series of southwesterly storms in the early 1990s washed away much of the shingle beach protecting the masonry. A set of artificial rock islands was constructed to protect the sea front, and tons of pebbles were trucked in to replace the beach.[18]

Sidmouth has a number of conservation projects, notably the arboretum which in 2012 designated all land owned by Sidmouth Town Council as 'civic arboretum', the first town in the United Kingdom to do so.[19][20]

Sidmouth's main road access is via the A3052 coast road. This provides access to Exeter and the M5 motorway 12 miles (19 km) away.

Irregular bus services connect to Exeter up to every half-hour by Stagecoach South West and to Honiton or Seaton. Sidmouth is also served by AVMT Buses' service 899, which runs from Seaton to Sidmouth via Beer and Branscombe .

Since the closure of the Sidmouth Railway in 1967, the nearest railway stations are Feniton, Honiton or Whimple, all on the West of England line. Feniton is the nearest of these stations, being 8 miles (13 km) away.[23]

Sidmouth has its own town council, presided over by a chair elected from councillors. There are eight wards, with 19 councillors in all. The town clerk is the senior paid officer, with a team of full-time and part-time staff. The town is responsible for many of the locally run services, including the information centre. Sidmouth lies within the areas of East Devon District Council and Devon County Council. The electorate of the Sidmouth ward at the 2011 census was 13,737.[24]

Sidmouth was in the Honiton parliamentary constituency from its recreation in 1885 until its abolition in 1997, since when it has been in the East Devon constituency.

The Esplanade is the sea front road from the red cliffs of Salcombe Hill in the east towards Jacob's Ladder Beach at the west. Peak Hill can be seen in the distance.

Jacob's Ladder is a series of wooden steps leading up to Connaught Gardens from Jacob's Ladder Beach and its red cliffs.

Connaught Gardens in September

Connaught Gardens date from around 1820. They were named after the Duke of Connaught, the third son of Queen Victoria, who officially opened the gardens in 1934. The bandstand there is used by bands in many weeks of the summer season.

This grassy slope up and along Peak Hill follows the red cliffs above Jacob's Ladder Beach. It provides a wide view eastwards over the whole town towards Salcombe Hill.

The principal revenue is from tourism, with a wide range of hotels and guest houses, as well as self catering accommodation in the local area.[48] Sidmouth is a retirement location, so pensioner spending is another source of income.

The largest employer is East Devon District Council, the headquarters of which are at the former Knowle Hotel. The headquarters were transferred to Honiton in 2019. There is a large independent department store, Fields of Sidmouth, which has been on the same site for over 200 years.[49] There are pubs, restaurants, coffee houses and tea rooms; also an indoor swimming pool, a sports hall at the leisure centre, and a golf course.

Old Fore Street (pedestrian zone)

Sidmouth College is a comprehensive school which takes children aged between 11 and 18 from as far afield as Exmouth and Exeter.[50] In February 2012, with 852 pupils on the roll, the college was deemed 'Good' by Ofsted.[51] The judgment of improvement in the college's provision followed the previous inspection (May 2009) when it was deemed 'satisfactory'.[52] In the 2005 Ofsted report, when there were 869 students on the roll, it was also deemed 'satisfactory'.[53]

Sidmouth College is situated in the Sid Valley. It admits students from East Devon.

There is one state junior school, which takes children from between the ages of 8 and 11. There are two state infant schools. There is, additionally, a private school: St John's International School (formerly known as the Convent of the Assumption) which takes children from two to 18, including overseas boarders. In 2007, it was taken over by International Education Systems (IES).[54]

Sidmouth International School is an English language school for foreign pupils.

• Stuart Hughes (politician)
• Edmund Leach (1910–1989), social anthropologist
• Adolph Friedrich Lindemann (1836–1931), engineer, lived at Sidholme mansion
• R. W. Sampson

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sidmouth.

• Official Sidmouth Tourism and Town Website
• Sidmouth Town Council
• Sidmouth at Curlie
• Rock fall at Pennington Point near Sidmouth February 2009 British Geological Survey

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Sidmouth.