Fun facts about Sidmouth

Coming to Sidmouth this Summer? Wow your friends and locals alike with these fun facts!

• Did you know that Sidmouth predates recorded history? Yep, the Sid Valley, which includes Sidmouth has been occupied as far back as the Iron Age and part of the valley was gifted by Saxon king, King Athelstan to Exeter Cathedral.
• The town appeared in the Domesday Book for the first time in 1086 under the name Sedemuda, which translates from old English into mouth of the Sid and was described as a fishing village.
• There is a part of town known as Fortfield which at one time did have a fort. This was likely built in the 1600s due to fear of a French invasion. Today the town’s cricket pitch sits on the site.
• The town was once home to royalty, Edward Duke of Kent, the youngest of George III’s sons, along with his wife and daughter moved into Woolbrook Glen – now known as the Royal Glen. They had only been in town for a few weeks when he became ill and passed away, making his daughter, the future Queen Victoria, in line for the throne.
• Sidmouth has featured in a host of literary works, including The Tale of Little Pig Robinson by Beatrix Potter. She based the location of Stymouth on Sidmouth and included descriptions of the beach and surrounding countryside. It also provided the inspiration for Wessex by Thomas Hardy, Pendennis by William Makepeace Thackeray and The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle.
• Not only has Sidmouth appeared in fictional works, it has also been home to several writers, including R F Delderfield, who lived at what is now the Gazebo on Peak Hill. JRR Tolkein would stay in the town for holidays and wrote the early part of Lord of the Rings while here too.
• Sidmouth Folk Week remains one of the longest running folk festivals in the UK and takes place every August. The festival was even once given its own blue plaque.

Want to find out more fun facts about Sidmouth? Be sure to visit the town’s museum to learn more about the region’s local history and to see artefacts relating to various eras of history and be sure to follow the Blue Plaque trail to learn more about the town’s notable people and events.