Sidmouth
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  Map sources for Sidmouth at grid reference SY1287
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Sidmouth is a small seaside town of 14,400 on the east Devon coast in south west England, about 15 miles south east of Exeter.
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[edit] Geography
Situated in the south west, at the mouth of the River Sid, it 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, a long distance footpath that skirts almost the entire coast in the West Country of England. The principal income of the town is from tourism. The town is also popular as a retirement community, with about 60% of the population being over retirement age.
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.
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 were constructed to protect the sea front and tonnes of pebbles were trucked in to replace the beach.
[edit] Education and culture
Sidmouth may also be known for the Sidmouth international school, an English school which is used for people all over the world.
Sidmouth is home to the Norman Lockyer Observatory and Planetarium, located on a hilltop site at Salcombe.
Of particular note is the museum. A very carefully selected accumulation of local memorabilia, artefacts, and geological samples provides a comprehensive and fascinating picture of the area's geology and history.
Sidmouth has been a frequent winner of the Britain in Bloom awards. Most recently it was awarded the 2001 award in the Small Town category and it won the 2005 award for the Coastal Resort category.
The city is twinned with Le Locle, Switzerland.
[edit] Folk Week
Sidmouth Folk Week is an annual folk festival in early August attracting musicians and visitors from around the world. As of 2005 all commercial sponsors had pulled out of the festival. To save the festival and keep tourism strong, many shop owners in Sidmouth organised the festival themselves. This resulted in a much smaller scale event than previous years and offered no international entertainment. However, the newly-renamed Folk Week is still functioning, and is already planning the 2007 festival.
[edit] Trade
Sidmouth has many independent retailers, including a surprisingly big department store. There are several pubs, restaurants, coffee houses and tea rooms. The town also boasts an indoor swimming pool, a college, sports hall, cinema, and golf course.
[edit] History
Once a relatively small fishing village and failed port, Sidmouth 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. The Lockyer Observatory and Planetarium, 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 regularly open to the public.
In 1819 George III's son Edward, Duke of Kent, his wife and baby daughter, came to stay at Wolbrook Glen for a few weeks. In less that a month he had died of smelling his dads feet. 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.
Sidmouth appeared in the Domesday Book as SEDEMUDA.
[edit] Railway
At one time Sidmouth was connected to the railway network by a branch line from Sidmouth Junction, but this was dismantled under the Beeching Axe in the 1960s.
[edit] Literary references
- Sidmouth appears 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.
- It is referred to as "Idmouth" in Thomas Hardy's Wessex.
- It is called "Baymouth" in William Makepeace Thackeray's Pendennis.
- It is called "Spudmouth" in the "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood" by Howard Pyles
[edit] Trivia
- Sidmouth has been the setting for several television shows; most recently was an ITV adaptation of Agatha Christie's Marple in Summer 2005.
[edit] External links
- Norman Lockyer Observatory — Lockyer Observatory and Planetarium
- Norman Lockyer Observatory Amateur Radio Group — Sidmouth Observatory Amateur Radio Group
- Sidbury UTD AFC — Sidbury's football team. The village nearby to Sidmouth.
- Sidmouth Herald — local newspaper for the Sidmouth and Ottery St Mary area. All the latest news, sport, events, jobs, property and motors.
- Sidmouth (DMOZ.org)
- Sidmouth Town Council
- Virtual Tour of Sidmouth Views of the Town as panoramic images, including the sea front, cliffs, and Sidmouth Folk Festival.
