HISTORY
From fishing village to Regency resort
Sidmouth’s story runs from prehistoric hilltops to royal visitors, and the red cliffs beneath it hold 185 million years of Earth history.
TIMELINE
Moments that shaped the town
A short history of Sidmouth and the Sid valley. Sources include the Sid Vale Association, Sidmouth Museum, Visit Devon and the Jurassic Coast Trust.
Early
PREHISTORY
People of the Sid valley
Bronze Age burial mounds and evidence of settlement since at least the Iron Age show that people have lived in the Sid valley for thousands of years. Peak Hill, west of the town, is the site of a prehistoric hillfort.
1086
MEDIEVAL
Sedemuda in the Domesday Book
Sidmouth appears in the Domesday Book as Sedemuda, meaning “mouth of the Sid”. It began as a fishing village, and by the 1200s it was a market town whose revenues went to the abbot of Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy. The town’s annual fair was held on St Giles’ feast day, 1 September.
1400s
TRADE
Wine, abbeys and smugglers
The town prospered from the wine trade in the 14th century. Henry V passed it from Mont-Saint-Michel to Syon Abbey, and Henry VIII took it during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The Old Ship has been a tavern since the 1400s and was used by smugglers.
1628
DEFENCE
A fort against invasion
A fort was built at Sidmouth in 1628, amid fears of a French invasion.
1819
ROYAL
A royal Christmas
Edward, Duke of Kent, son of George III, arrived on Christmas Eve 1819 with his wife and baby daughter, Princess Victoria. They stayed at Woolbrook Cottage, now the Royal Glen Hotel. The Duke died there of pneumonia on 23 January 1820, and his daughter went on to become Queen Victoria.
1800s
RESORT
The rise of the resort
Sidmouth stayed a village until the Georgian and Victorian fashion for the seaside turned it into a resort. The elegant Esplanade and the Regency and Victorian villas you see today date from this era.
1846
CIVIC PRIDE
Britain’s first civic society
The Sid Vale Association was founded in 1846 by John Carslake and is regarded as the first civic society in Britain. It still looks after more than 50 acres around the town and runs Sidmouth Museum.
1874
RAILWAY
The railway arrives
A branch line from Sidmouth Junction connected the town to the railway network in 1874. It was closed and dismantled in 1967 as a result of the Beeching cuts.
1912
SCIENCE
Eyes on the sky
The astronomer Sir Norman Lockyer’s observatory on Salcombe Hill was completed in 1912. It is now run entirely by volunteers and is regularly open to the public.
1934
GARDENS
Connaught Gardens
The Duke of Connaught, Queen Victoria’s son, returned to Sidmouth in 1934 to open the clifftop gardens that bear his name. The gardens themselves date back to around 1820, and Jacob’s Ladder leads from here down to the beach.
1938
LITERATURE
Tolkien on holiday
J.R.R. Tolkien worked on early chapters of The Lord of the Rings while on a family holiday in Sidmouth in 1938.
1955
MUSIC
The Folk Festival begins
The first Sidmouth folk festival was held in 1955. It has grown into a week-long celebration of music, dance and song every August.
1969
ANIMALS
The Donkey Sanctuary
Dr Elisabeth Svendsen founded The Donkey Sanctuary in 1969. It has grown into an international charity, and its Sidmouth site is free to visit.
2001
HERITAGE
Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site
The Jurassic Coast, 95 miles of coastline spanning 185 million years of Earth history, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. It remains England’s only natural World Heritage Site.
SEE IT FOR YOURSELF
Museum, plaques and the old town
Sidmouth Museum, in Hope Cottage on Coburg Road, has been run by the Sid Vale Association since 1950. It covers lacemaking, local archaeology, geology and the town’s royal connections. It opens seasonally, so check before you visit. Around town, blue plaques mark notable residents and events and make an easy self-guided trail.