Sidbury, Devon

Sidbury, Devon

Sidbury is a picturesque village on the River Sid, a few miles inland of Sidmouth, where the river empties into Lyme Bay. Above the village rises Sidbury Castle, the earthwork remains of an Iron Age hillfort that occupies the summit of Castle Hill. Another Iron age hillfort, Blackbury Camp, lies a few miles to the east.

The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, when the manor of 'Sideberia' was owned by the Bishop of Exeter.

St Giles Church

In the centre of Sidbury is the parish church of St Giles, which retains its Saxon crypt, one of the very few surviving in Devon. The remainder of the church is largely Norman. Within St Giles Church is a series of medieval corbel heads including a depiction of Atlas holding up the world.

St Giles Church

The church interior is filled with fragments of wall paintings spanning the centuries from early medieval to the Tudor period. There are also no fewer than seven Green Man carvings throughout the church as well as five stained glass windows by the Victorian artist CE Kempe.

In the churchyard is the final resting place of actress Joan Hickson, best known for her portrayal of Miss Marple in the television series of the same name. Her headstone bears her married name, Joan Bogle Butler.

In the southeast corner of the village is Deepway Meadow Millennium Green, a natural open space created to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. This lovely green space is a haven for wildlife. Millennium Green originally formed part of Deepway Farm, a picturesque thatched farmhouse located immediately south of a bend in the River Sid.

Deepway Farm

Sand House

Just outside Sidbury is the delightful Tudor house of Sand, the home of the Huyshe family since 1560. Visitors can explore the house on occasional guided tours, and enjoy the beautiful gardens, begun in the early 17th century and incorporating a thatched gazebo.

Sidbury is blessed with a large number of historic buildings, including a wealth of thatched cottages dating to at least the 17th century. On Fore Street stands Court Hall, a grade II listed building that served as the manor house before the present manor house of Sidbury Hall was built in 1879 just outside the village.

Sand House

There is one pub, the Red Lion, located on Fore Street, opposite St Giles Church. Just up the road from the pub is the village shop and post office.

Sidbury is located on the East Devon Way long-distance footpath.

Getting There

Sidbury is on the A375 directly north of Sidmouth. There is a free public car park off Ridgeway Close, but we've never had any problem finding parking along the village streets.

A typical Sidbury cottage

Our family was lucky enough to spend a week in a self-catering cottage just outside Sidbury, and I was drawn back again and again to visit the village numerous times over the course of that week to photograph the beautiful period cottages and historic buildings.