St Sidwell's is an area east of

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal c ...

city centre in the ward of

Newtown Newtown may refer to: Places Australia *Newtown, New South Wales *Newtown, Queensland (Ipswich) *Newtown, Queensland (Toowoomba) *Newtown, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong *Newtown, Victoria (Golden Plains Shire), a locality near Ballarat Canada * ...

. Formerly a village in its own right, St Sidwells grew in importance along with Exeter thanks to its location on the main cart track between Exeter and the high ground of Stoke Hill and the rich farmland of

East Devon East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council has been based in Honiton since February 2019, and the largest town is Exmouth (with a population of 34,432 at the time of the 2011 census). The district was formed ...

History

The springs of St Sidwell's were tapped by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

for the needs of the city and their water piped via wooden

aqueduct Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...

s to supply their citadel. This system became the underground passages of the 13th century and was only turned off in 1902. The settlement's current name derives from

Saint Sidwell Sidwell (also known as Sidwella and other minor variants; la, Sativola) was a virgin saint from the English county of Devon, She is the patron saint of Exeter and sister to Saint Juthwara. Legend Sidwell was a Saxon Christian living in Ex ...

, a devout young girl who was beheaded by her father's farm labourers in fields outside the East gate at a site where a spring was struck and miracles began to occur. In 1665, St Sidwell's Church of England School was founded and is still there to this day as a primary school. Children's author Gene Kemp taught at the school in the 1970s.

Geography

St Sidwell's comprises part of Exeter City Centre (Sidwell Street) to the west and a residential area to the east. It is south of Pennsylvania and north of Newtown. Sidwell Street is the main road through the area, which splits into Old Tiverton Road and Blackboy road further east. It is the slightly less upmarket, eastern end of the city centre, and mainly comprises barbers, charity shops and foreign food stores. The nearest railway station is

St James Park St James Park and variants may refer to: Municipalities * St James Park, New Zealand, a suburb of Hamilton, New Zealand Football stadiums * St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England * St James Park (Exeter), Exeter, England * St James Park, g ...

. St Sidwell's and St James are names used interchangeably often to describe the same rough geographical area - neither of the two have formal boundaries.

In popular culture

The parish is mentioned in an 1865 edition of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' magazine '' All the Year Round'':

Notable people

*British bryologist

Frances Elizabeth Tripp Frances Elizabeth Tripp (1 August 1832 – 26 December 1890) was a British bryologist, botanical illustrator, philanthropist and writer. She is best known for her two volume work ''British Mosses, their homes, aspects, structures and uses' ...

was baptised here.

References

Sources

Evidence Base: Exeter St. James Neighbourhood Plan
Areas of Exeter {{Devon-geo-stub