Sidmouth
Encyclopedia
Sidmouth is a small town on the English Channel
coast in Devon
, South West England
. The town lies at the mouth of the River Sid
in the East Devon
district, 15 miles (24 km) south east of Exeter
. It has a population of about 15,000, of whom 40% are over 65.
The town is a tourist resort and a gateway town on the Jurassic Coast
World Heritage Site. A large part of the town has been designated as a conservation area
.
as Sedemuda. Like many towns on the south coast, it was a small fishing village. Though attempts have been made to construct a harbour here, none have succeeded, and a lack of shelter in the bay prevented the town growing as a port.
Sidmouth remained a small village until the fashion for coastal resorts grew in the Georgian and Victorian periods of the 18th and 19th centuries. The town's numerous fine Georgian
and Regency villas and mansions are now mostly hotels.
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 after a brief illness. The house later became the Royal Glen Hotel, and a plaque on an exterior wall records the visit.
In 1874, Sidmouth was connected to the railway network by a branch line from Sidmouth Junction to Sidmouth railway station
. The line was dismantled in 1967 as part of the Beeching Axe
.
In 2008, Canadian millionaire, Keith Owen, who had vacationed in the town and planned to retire there, bequeathed the community's civic society, Sid Vale Association, about £1.5 million upon learning that he had only weeks to live due to lung cancer
. The bequest is to be used as a capital fund which would generate an annual interest dividend of around £60,000 annually for community projects. Daily Mail.
Sidmouth, as its name suggests, lies at the mouth of the River Sid
in a valley between Peak Hill to the west and Salcombe Hill to the east. The town 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
. Sidmouth's rocks contain fossils and so this stretch of coast is part of the Jurassic coast world heritage site. The red-coloured rocks indicate the arid
conditions of the Triassic
.
Erosion remains a serious concern east of the mouth of the River Sid. The cliffs have been heavily eroded, threatening clifftop homes and the coastal footpath.
A wide esplanade has been a seafront feature since Regency times. A series of southwesterly storms in the early 1990s washed away much of the shingle beach protecting the masonry, and a series of artificial rock islands was constructed to protect the sea front and tons of pebbles were trucked in to replace the beach.
The town has one cinema, the Radway Cinema.
Sidmouth has been a frequent winner of the Britain in Bloom
awards. Most recently it won the Small Town category in 2001 and the Coastal Resort category in 2005.
The parish church is St Giles & St Nicholas. Sidmouth Museum, next door to the church, has local memorabilia, historical artefacts, and geological samples.
Sidmouth is home to the Norman Lockyer Observatory and Planetarium
, located on a hilltop site at Salcombe Hill. The observatory, completed in 1912, fell into disuse and ruin but was saved from demolition by the appeals of local enthusiasts to East Devon District Council. The observatory now operates as a science education project and is open to the public.
The Sidmouth Herald
is the local newspaper.
festival
in early August attracting musician
s and visitors from around the world. Due to the increased cost of public liability insurance, it became less financially viable over the years and in 2005 the last of the commercial sponsors, essential for its existence, pulled out. To continue the tradition, individuals grouped together to form Sidmouth FolkWeek Productions, a limited company. Since the change of format, the event has been held on a smaller scale, with no arena at the Knowle, though marquees are still erected in the Blackmore Gardens and The Ham, which is at the eastern end of the town.
's children's story The Tale of Little Pig Robinson
(1930). The author includes views of the beach and other parts of the Devon countryside in the work. In Thomas Hardy
's Wessex, the town is the inspiration for "Idmouth" in West Wessex. "Baymouth" in William Makepeace Thackeray
's Pendennis
, and "Spudmouth" in the The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
by Howard Pyle
, are both based on the town.
Sidmouth has also been the setting for television shows; most recently in an ITV
adaptation of Agatha Christie
's Marple
in Summer 2005.
Sidmouth was a favourite location for Sir John Betjeman
. He chose it as the subject of the first programme of the television series John Betjeman In The West Country that he wrote and presented in 1962. The script takes the form of an extended poem and was republished in 2000 as a short book, illustrated with shots from the programme.
, play a series of concerts in the Connaught Gardens each Sunday evening at 8pm. This tradition has been maintained since the band was formed in the early 1860s and runs from late May until early September.
In 2010, during competition, the band was crowned the West of England Champions in the third section. They went on that year to win third prize at the National Finals of Great Britain. In 2011, the band retained their West of England Champions title and are promoted to the second section from 2012. They will again be competing in the National Finals in September 2011.
in Switzerland.
. The town is also a retirement destination, so pensioner spending is another source of income.
Sidmouth has a large independent department store
, Fields of Sidmouth, which has been on the same site for over 200 years.
There are pubs, restaurants, coffee houses, and tea rooms. The town also has an indoor swimming pool, a sports hall at the leisure centre, a college, cinema, and golf course.
The Donkey Sanctuary
, a charity
devoted to the welfare of donkey
s is nearby.
, Sidmouth College, is a comprehensive school
which takes children aged 11–18 from as far away as Exmouth and Exeter. The school is a specialist Technology College status. At the time of the last Ofsted
inspection (mid 2010), there were 891 pupils on roll and the school was considered to be 'satisfactory'. Previous ofsted report was in early 2005, 869 students on roll and the school was considered to be 'Satisfactory'.
Sidmouth College is situated in an unrivalled position in the beautiful Sid Valley and is a Comprehensive Community College with specialist Technology status.
The College is regularly over-subscribed and, because of its local popularity, admits students from a wide area in East Devon.
A recent award which has been won by the college's English department was the Carnegie award, this was awarded to a group of year 9 pupils in 2011.
There is one state junior school
in the town, which is part of sidmouth schools, which takes children from between the ages of 8 and 11. There are two state infant school
s,which is part of sidmouth schools.
There is also a private preparatory school
in Sidmouth, St John's School,
which takes children from 2 – 13 years old including many overseas boarders. In 2007, the school was taken over by International Education Systems (IES).
The Sidmouth International School is an English Language school
for foreign students.
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
coast in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, South West England
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
. The town lies at the mouth of the River Sid
River Sid
The River Sid is a minor river in East Devon. It flows for 10.5 kilometres southwards from a source in Crowpits Covert at a height of 206 metres above sea level...
in the East Devon
East Devon
East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Sidmouth, and the largest town is Exmouth.The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Honiton with the urban districts of Budleigh Salterton, Exmouth, Ottery St. Mary, Seaton, Sidmouth...
district, 15 miles (24 km) south east of Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
. It has a population of about 15,000, of whom 40% are over 65.
The town is a tourist resort and a gateway town on the Jurassic Coast
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
World Heritage Site. A large part of the town has been designated as a conservation area
Conservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
.
History
Sidmouth appeared in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as Sedemuda. Like many towns on the south coast, it was a small fishing village. Though attempts have been made to construct a harbour here, none have succeeded, and a lack of shelter in the bay prevented the town growing as a port.
Sidmouth remained a small village until the fashion for coastal resorts grew in the Georgian and Victorian periods of the 18th and 19th centuries. The town's numerous fine Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
and Regency villas and mansions are now mostly hotels.
In 1819, George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
's son Edward, Duke of Kent
Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
The Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of King George III and the father of Queen Victoria...
, his wife and baby daughter (the future Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
) came to stay at Woolbrook Glen for a few weeks. In less than a month he had died after a brief illness. The house later became the Royal Glen Hotel, and a plaque on an exterior wall records the visit.
In 1874, Sidmouth was connected to the railway network by a branch line from Sidmouth Junction to Sidmouth railway station
Sidmouth railway station
Sidmouth railway station was a fully operational single platform station located in Sidmouth, Devon, England until its closure in 1967. The station is now a privately owned property at the top of Alexandria Road, Sidmouth...
. The line was dismantled in 1967 as part of the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
.
In 2008, Canadian millionaire, Keith Owen, who had vacationed in the town and planned to retire there, bequeathed the community's civic society, Sid Vale Association, about £1.5 million upon learning that he had only weeks to live due to lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
. The bequest is to be used as a capital fund which would generate an annual interest dividend of around £60,000 annually for community projects. Daily Mail.
Geography
River Sid
The River Sid is a minor river in East Devon. It flows for 10.5 kilometres southwards from a source in Crowpits Covert at a height of 206 metres above sea level...
in a valley between Peak Hill to the west and Salcombe Hill to the east. The town is surrounded by the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is on the Jurassic Coast
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
, a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
, and the South West Coast Path
South West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path is Britain's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Since it rises and falls with every river mouth, it is also one of the more...
. Sidmouth's rocks contain fossils and so this stretch of coast is part of the Jurassic coast world heritage site. The red-coloured rocks indicate the arid
Arid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
conditions of the Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
.
Erosion remains a serious concern east of the mouth of the River Sid. The cliffs have been heavily eroded, threatening clifftop homes and the coastal footpath.
A wide esplanade has been a seafront feature since Regency times. A series of southwesterly storms in the early 1990s washed away much of the shingle beach protecting the masonry, and a series of artificial rock islands was constructed to protect the sea front and tons of pebbles were trucked in to replace the beach.
Culture
The Manor Pavilion houses a small arts centre and a theatre that plays host to both amateur and professional productions.The town has one cinema, the Radway Cinema.
Sidmouth has been a frequent winner of the Britain in Bloom
Britain in Bloom
RHS Britain in Bloom, supported by Anglian Home Improvements, is the largest horticultural campaign in the United Kingdom. It was first held in 1963, initiated by the British Tourist Board based on the example set by Fleurissement de France. It has been organised by the Royal Horticultural Society ...
awards. Most recently it won the Small Town category in 2001 and the Coastal Resort category in 2005.
The parish church is St Giles & St Nicholas. Sidmouth Museum, next door to the church, has local memorabilia, historical artefacts, and geological samples.
Sidmouth is home to the Norman Lockyer Observatory and Planetarium
Lockyer Observatory and Planetarium
The Norman Lockyer Observatory and Planetarium is a planetarium and a public access optical observatory in East Devon on the Jurassic Coast of South West England.- Location and instruments :...
, located on a hilltop site at Salcombe Hill. The observatory, completed in 1912, fell into disuse and ruin but was saved from demolition by the appeals of local enthusiasts to East Devon District Council. The observatory now operates as a science education project and is open to the public.
The Sidmouth Herald
Sidmouth Herald
The Sidmouth Herald is a British newspaper, established in 1849. A team of reporters cover Sidmouth, Beer, Branscombe, Ottery St Mary, and the surrounding areas....
is the local newspaper.
Folk Week
Sidmouth Folk Week is a famous annual folkFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
in early August attracting musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s and visitors from around the world. Due to the increased cost of public liability insurance, it became less financially viable over the years and in 2005 the last of the commercial sponsors, essential for its existence, pulled out. To continue the tradition, individuals grouped together to form Sidmouth FolkWeek Productions, a limited company. Since the change of format, the event has been held on a smaller scale, with no arena at the Knowle, though marquees are still erected in the Blackmore Gardens and The Ham, which is at the eastern end of the town.
Literary references
Sidmouth has featured in literary works, including as "Stymouth" in Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
's children's story The Tale of Little Pig Robinson
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter and first published simultaneously in Britain by Frederick Warne & Co. and in America by David McKay Company in September 1930. The tale is the story of the pig in Edward Lear's "The Owl and the...
(1930). The author includes views of the beach and other parts of the Devon countryside in the work. In Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
's Wessex, the town is the inspiration for "Idmouth" in West Wessex. "Baymouth" in William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
's Pendennis
Pendennis
Pendennis is a novel by the English author William Makepeace Thackeray. It is set in 19th century England, particularly in London. The main hero is a young English gentleman Arthur Pendennis who is born in the country and sets out for London to seek his place in life and society...
, and "Spudmouth" in the The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire is an 1883 novel by the American illustrator and writer Howard Pyle. Consisting of a series of episodes in the story of the English outlaw Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, the novel compiles traditional material into a...
by Howard Pyle
Howard Pyle
Howard Pyle was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy.__FORCETOC__...
, are both based on the town.
Sidmouth has also been the setting for television shows; most recently in an ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
adaptation of Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's Marple
Marple (TV series)
Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
in Summer 2005.
Sidmouth was a favourite location for Sir John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
. He chose it as the subject of the first programme of the television series John Betjeman In The West Country that he wrote and presented in 1962. The script takes the form of an extended poem and was republished in 2000 as a short book, illustrated with shots from the programme.
Sidmouth Town Band
During the summer, the Sidmouth Town Band, a brass bandBrass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
, play a series of concerts in the Connaught Gardens each Sunday evening at 8pm. This tradition has been maintained since the band was formed in the early 1860s and runs from late May until early September.
In 2010, during competition, the band was crowned the West of England Champions in the third section. They went on that year to win third prize at the National Finals of Great Britain. In 2011, the band retained their West of England Champions title and are promoted to the second section from 2012. They will again be competing in the National Finals in September 2011.
Twin towns
Sidmouth is twinned with Le LocleLe Locle
Le Locle is a municipality in the district of Le Locle in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.It is situated in the Jura mountains, a few kilometers from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds....
in Switzerland.
Economy
The principal income of the town is from tourismTourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
. The town is also a retirement destination, so pensioner spending is another source of income.
Sidmouth has a large independent department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
, Fields of Sidmouth, which has been on the same site for over 200 years.
There are pubs, restaurants, coffee houses, and tea rooms. The town also has an indoor swimming pool, a sports hall at the leisure centre, a college, cinema, and golf course.
The Donkey Sanctuary
The Donkey Sanctuary
The Donkey Sanctuary is a British charitable organization devoted to the welfare of donkeys. The charity, which is based near Sidmouth in Devon, England, was founded in 1969. It is one of the largest equine charities in the world with an annual income and expenditure of £22 million.- History...
, a charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
devoted to the welfare of donkey
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
s is nearby.
Education
The state secondary schoolSecondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
, Sidmouth College, is a comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
which takes children aged 11–18 from as far away as Exmouth and Exeter. The school is a specialist Technology College status. At the time of the last Ofsted
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
inspection (mid 2010), there were 891 pupils on roll and the school was considered to be 'satisfactory'. Previous ofsted report was in early 2005, 869 students on roll and the school was considered to be 'Satisfactory'.
Sidmouth College is situated in an unrivalled position in the beautiful Sid Valley and is a Comprehensive Community College with specialist Technology status.
The College is regularly over-subscribed and, because of its local popularity, admits students from a wide area in East Devon.
A recent award which has been won by the college's English department was the Carnegie award, this was awarded to a group of year 9 pupils in 2011.
There is one state junior school
Junior school
A junior school is a type of school which caters for children, often between the ages of 7 and 11.-Australia:In Australia, a junior school is usually a part of a private school that educates children between the ages of 5 and 12....
in the town, which is part of sidmouth schools, which takes children from between the ages of 8 and 11. There are two state infant school
Infant school
An Infant school is a term used primarily in the United Kingdom for school for children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular locality....
s,which is part of sidmouth schools.
There is also a private preparatory school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
in Sidmouth, St John's School,
which takes children from 2 – 13 years old including many overseas boarders. In 2007, the school was taken over by International Education Systems (IES).
The Sidmouth International School is an English Language school
Language school
A language school is a school where one studies a foreign language. Classes at a language school are usually geared towards, but not limited to, communicative competence in a foreign language...
for foreign students.
External links
- Sidmouth Town Council
- Rock fall at Pennington Point near Sidmouth February 2009 British Geological Survey