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Ottery's
Interesting Past
Ottery
Parish Church, "..a place hallowed by the locals and kept
shining by the labours of the legion of helpers - the Vicar's
Holy Dusters" ...Sir John Betjeman
Ottery
St Mary lies in the valley of the River Otter, 12 miles east
of Exeter and 6 miles inland from the coastal resort of Sidmouth.
It was listed in Domesday Book of 1086 as "The Manor of
Otrei", but in 1207 "St Mary" was added to its
name, indicating a church had been built by that time.
In
1226 the town received a Charter from King Henry III allowing
them to hold a market and a fair, and just over a century later,
in 1337 John de Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter enlarged Ottery's
small Norman church, closely modelling it on the Cathedral Church
of St Peter in Exeter. The work was completed in 1342 and was
used as a Collegiate Church for the following two hundred years.
Monuments to the Grandisson family can be found in the nave,
and to the Coleridge family in the South transept.
Ottery
has had its fair share of important visitors over the centuries.
Sir Thomas Fairfax and his Parliamentarian troops were quartered
here in 1645 during the Great Civil War. It was in Ottery too
that he met up with Oliver Cromwell to plan the next stage of
their campaign.
Kings
Henry III, IV and V all visited The Choristers School, set up
by John de Grandisson in Ottery, and in 1688 Prince William
of Orange dined in the town on 21st November, before collecting
some of his troops already stationed in Ottery, and making his
way to Axminster. Here he reorganised his army before proceeding
to London to claim the crown from James II.
The
Reformation in the reign of King Henry VIII brought with it
the dissolution of the College on 24th December 1545. In place
of the former choir school Henry VIII founded the "Kynge's
Newe Grammer Scole". Today, the Kings School occupies a
different site, and continues to flourish as a comprehensive
school with with over 900 pupils
Accommodation
in and around Ottery St Mary
For
a wide range of accommodation please contact the Ottery St Mary
Tourist Information Office. Phyllis Baxter, the Manager, will
be only too happy to help you. The telephone number is 01404
813964 or you can email her directly with this link: Tourist
Information Centre.
Alternatively,
try our local hotel, the Salston Manor - details available on
their website: www.salstonhotel.co.uk
Upcoming
Events in and Around Ottery St Mary
Cadhay
Elizabethan Manor open every Friday - 2-5.30 pm. Guided Tour
and Cream Teas available.
Farmers'
Market, Hind Street Car Park - 9.00 - 1 pm first Friday of every
month.
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Samuel
T Coleridge
The
famous poet Samuel T Coleridge was born in Otter in 1772, the
youngest son of Reverend John Coleridge, Headmaster of the King's
School. Whilst famous for such poems as 'Rime of the Ancient
Mariner' and 'Kubla Khan', much of his writing refers to childhood
experiences in Ottery, in such poems as 'Song of the Pixies'
and 'Sonnet to the River Otter'.
Today,
the Coleridge family still have strong links to the town, and
Chanters House, next to the Church, is the home of Lord and
Lady Coleridge.
Sir
Ernest Satow and the Japanese Connection
Ottery
St Mary has a couple of interesting connections with Japan.
Firstly the town is twinned with Otari, and the Tar Barrel Night
has attracted a lot of Japanese visitors to the town. There
is a Japanese garden at the Community Hospital and the Otari
residents have made a considerable contribution to the building
fund. The towns have exchanged a "Declaration of Friendship"
and there is regular exchange of information between schools
and councils of both towns.
Secondly,
Sir Ernest Satow is buried in Ottery's churchyard. Sir Ernest
was responsible for drawing up and introducing the modern Japanese
system of government during the 19th century. Satow was based
in Japan as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
from 1895 to 1900.
Sir
Ernest retired to Ottery St Mary in 1906, and in the following
years until his death in 1929 he wrote mainly on subjects connected
with diplomacy and international law.
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Pixie
Day
Pixie
Day will take place on 23 June in 2007
Once
a year, on a Saturday in June, the local Brownies and Cubs re-enact
a local legend. This legend says that before the church was
built the Pixies ruled the town. When the monks returned from
Exeter with bells for the tower, the Pixies cast a spell on
the monks, forcing them to walk past Ottery St Mary and head
for the cliffs. The bells were saved when one monk stepped on
a thistle and exclaimed 'God bless my soul and Saint Mary',
which broke the spell. The Pixies were banished to Pixies Parlour,
on the east bank of the River Otter.
If
you are in Ottery for Pixie Day, you will see the celebrations
begin in the early afternoon when a large fete takes place on
the Land of Caanan park, next to the Doctors' Surgery. Take
time to enjoy the coconut shies, raffles, the bars, fire engine
displays, pet shows, locally made produce stalls and so on..
At
6 pm the celebrations focus on Ottery's town square. Hundreds
of 'Pixies' (as shown above) capture the St. Mary's church bell
ringers and drag them from the church to the square, where a
reenactment of the pixies' banishment takes place.
Tar
Barrels
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(Tar
barrels takes place on 5th November)
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Guy
Fawkes night (5th November), is a very important date in
the Ottery St Mary Calendar. Thousands of people flood into
the town to join in the excitement of the Tar Barrels ritual
which dates back to 1688. |
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The
whole event begins around 4.30 when the boys' run starts.
They carry nine-gallon barrels. They carry the flaming
barrels on their shoulders until the weight or heat becomes
too much for them and another person takes over. This
carries on until the barrels start to break up and then
they are allowed to burn out. Later in the evening the
men and women's races begin, with the men carrying 18-gallon
barrels. Each barrel is sponsored by a local pub, business
of family.
The
origins of this event are not quite clear, but the general
consensus is that the tradition began as a pagan ritual
that would cleanse the streets of evil spirits. Others
say it all started as a result of smoldering barrels that
were placed in shops for the purpose of fumigation.
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