St Sidwells is an area east of Exeter city centre in the ward of Newtown. 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. The wells of St Sidwells were initially tapped by the Romans 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 which were only turned off in 1902. St Sidwells also has its own saint, the devout young girl murdered by a jealous stepmother and whose place of death became the site of the pure spring of St Sidwells.
