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Sidmouth

Sidmouth (pronounced /ˈsɪdməθ/) 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.^[1]. 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.

History

Sidmouth appeared in the Domesday Book 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.^[2]

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 pounds 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 pounds annually for community projects. Daily Mail.

Geography

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 world heritage site and the South West Coast Path.

Erosion remains a serious concern east of the mouth of the River Sid. The cliffs have been heavily eroded, threatening cliff top homes and the coastal footpath^[3][4]

A wide esplanade has been a seafront feature since Regency times. A series of southwesterly storms in the 1980s 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^[5]

Geology

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.

Culture

The Manor Pavilion houses a small arts centre and a theatre that plays host to both amateur and professional productions.^[6] The town has one cinema, the Radway Cinema.^[7]

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.^[8]

Sidmouth is home to the Norman Lockyer Observatory and Planetarium, located on a hilltop site at Salcombe. 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.^[9]

The Sidmouth Herald is the local newspaper.

Folk Week

Sidmouth Folk Week is an annual folk festival in early August attracting musicians and visitors from around the world. After 2005 all commercial sponsors pulled out of the festival. To continue the tradition of the festival, 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. Thought marques are still erected in the Blackmore Gardens and The Ham with is at the Eastern end of the town.

Literary references

Sidmouth has featured in literary works, including as "Stymouth" in Beatrix Potter'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.^[10]

Economy

The principal income of the town is from tourism. The town is also a retirement destination, so pensioner spending is another source of income.

Sidmouth has a large independent department store. 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 charitable organization devoted to the welfare of donkeys is nearby.

Education

The state secondary school, Sidmouth College, is a comprehensive school which takes children aged 11–18 from as far away as Exmouth. The school was recently awarded specialist Technology College status.^[11] At the time of the last Ofsted inspection (mid 2008), there were 867 pupils on roll and the school was considered to be 'Inadequate'.^[12] Previous ofsted report was in early 2005, 869 students on roll and the school was considered to be 'Satisfactory'.^[13]

There is one state junior school in the town, St Nicholas Church of England Junior School, which takes children from between the ages of 8 and 11.^[14] There are two state infant schools, All Saints Church of England Infants School^[15] and Sidmouth Infants School^[16].

There is also a private preparatory school in Sidmouth, St John's School,^[17] which takes children from 2 – 13 years old including many overseas boarders. In 2007, the school was taken over by International Education Systems (IES).^[18]

The Sidmouth International School is an English Language school for foreign students.^[19]

A full list of local schools can be found on Sidmouth community sites including Sidmouth Info. ^[20]

Twin towns

Le Locle, Switzerland