Welcome to Ottery St Mary

A little town with a long history. Ottery’s roots run deeper than Doomsday Book. In 1061, Edward the Confessor ceded the already established wealthy manor of Oterie to the Cathedral Chapter of Rouen. Nearly three hundred years later, Bishop John de Grandisson of Exeter redeemed Oterie, remodelled its Church of St Mary in miniature of Exeter Cathedral and in 1327, founded a College of Canons with up to forty religious. Though the college ceased to exist in fact, (thanks to Henry V111), leaving only its memory in the ancient part-cobbled street still called ‘The College’, Grandisson’s greatest legacy, the Church of St Mary, Ottery, sits like a benediction on its hill above the town, officially acknowledged one of the finest Parish Churches of England, much loved and much used by the townsfolk, a wonderful venue for concerts and celebrations as for services. There is a fine ring of bells, pulled by dedicated ringers, a mediaeval clock, a sadly now voiceless but rare
weathercock, and overall superb architecture.