Sidmouth, Devon

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, approximately 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.

History

Sidmouth appeared in the Domesday Book as Sedemuda. Like many towns on the south coast, it was initially 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, therefore, until the fashion for coastal resorts grew in the Georgian and Victorian periods of the 18th and 19th centuries. The town became a fashionable resort for the gentry in the early nineteenth century. 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, came to stay at Woolbrook Glen for a few weeks. In less than a month he had died after a brief illness. His daughter was the future Queen Victoria. 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.

Sidmouth, Devon - 2009

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