The people who came to stay in Sidmouth brought many of the refinements of city life with them. They were not willing to sacrifice their cultural life in order to obtain the advantages of a seaside resort.

Just as the cultural life of Bath, Cheltenham, Harrowgate, Buxton, Tunbridge Wells, Leamington Spa, Matlock, and all the other so called Watering Places, was greatly changed by the influx of wealthy people seeking to recouperate from the excesses of their everyday life so the life of Sidmouth changed.

What had been a fishing and farming community was suddenly exposed to the pleasures and requirements of Society. This change affected everyone. It brought opportunities to advance your position in life whether you were a professional person or a servant, it supported a greater variety of shopkeepers and artisans, it made landowners and builders rich, and it created a new class of hoteliers and of transport providers. And all these people were required to be ‘cultured’ enough to understand their customers and clients!