St Sidwell's is an area east of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

city centre in the ward of Newtown. Formerly a village in its own right, St Sidwell's 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 is based in the town of Honiton, although Exmouth is the largest town. The district also contains the towns of Axminster, Budleigh Salterton, Cranbrook, Ottery St M ...

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

for the needs of the city and their water piped via wooden aqueducts 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; ) was a virgin saint from the English county of Devon, She is the patroness saint of Exeter and sister to Juthwara. Legend Sidwell was a Saxon Christian living in Exeter in the 8th ce ...

. 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 eastern end of the city centre. The nearest railway station is

St James Park St James Park and variants may refer to: Football stadiums * St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, ground of Newcastle United F.C. * St James Park (Exeter), England, ground of Exeter City F.C. * St James Park, ground of Brackley Town F.C., ...

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 novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

' magazine ''

All the Year Round ''All the Year Round'' was a British weekly literary magazine founded and owned by Charles Dickens, published between 1859 and 1895 throughout the United Kingdom. Edited by Dickens, it was the direct successor to his previous publication '' Ho ...

'':

Notable people

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould (; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,240 pu ...

(1834–1924), Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar *British bryologist Frances Elizabeth Tripp (1832–1890) was baptised here.

References

Sources

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