St Sidwell’s Community Centre is hosting its annual Sidwella Day celebration on Friday 31 July with activities including art, gardening and zine-making.
There will be Colombian snacks and an Ethiopian coffee ceremony followed by a meal with injera.
Sidwella Day is celebrated in honour of the patron saint of Exeter and namesake of Sidwell Street – and its community centre.
Sidwella, the daughter of a nobleman, is believed to have lived inside the walls of the city in the 8th century and to have met her end when beheaded with a scythe by a farmworker.
A wicked stepmother ordered the deed, according to a 14th century telling of her story.
Before her death, Sidwella regularly left the city to bring food to the villagers working in what were then the fields at St Sidwell’s.
Saint Sidwella frieze in Sidwell Street
St Sidwell’s Community Centre, which opened in 2001, is an independent, entirely secular charity which welcomes everyone regardless of background, ability or circumstance and offers a range of activities, events and services for the local community.
It runs a community café, a bakery, a community fridge and free English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes.
The centre also manages a large community garden, where organic fruit and vegetables are grown for use in the café, offers meeting rooms for hire to local groups and acts as a local heritage hub for Exeter city centre’s eastern quarter.
This year’s Sidwella Day celebration starts at 3pm on Friday 31 July 2026 at St Sidwell’s Community Centre. The Ethiopian coffee ceremony begins at 4pm and injera will be available from 5pm.
The event is free to attend, with food for sale. Injera can be booked in advance at £8 per portion.
For more information and to book visit the St Sidwell’s Community Centre website.
