Ottery St Mary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Map sources for Ottery St Mary at grid reference SY099955
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Ottery St Mary is a town in Devon, England, on the River Otter, about ten miles east of Exeter. It is part of a large civil parish of the same name, which also covers the villages of West Hill, Metcombe, Fairmile, Alfington, Tipton St. John and Wiggaton. The parish has a total population of 7692. (2001 census).
The town is known as the birthplace of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and the place where the noted diplomat Sir Ernest Satow spent his retirement years (1906-29) at the house called 'Beaumont' which still survives, though it is now divided into three or four dwellings. Satow was buried in the churchyard, and a commemorative plaque to him is in the church.
Ottery's notable buildings include the Tumbling Weir and Ottery St Mary church. The town is the site of The King's School, now a comprehensive school, founded in 1545.
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[edit] Tar Barrels
Major events are held in Ottery near the 5th November - Guy Fawkes Night, when flaming tar barrels are carried through the town[1]. A 17th century tradition, barrels soaked in tar are set alight and carried aloft through parts of the town. Image:Tarbarrels2005.jpg The festivities begin in the early evening with the children's, youth's and women's events, culminating in the men's event into the night. A total of seventeen barrels are lit outside each of seventeen pubs in Ottery. The barrels increase in size up to 30kg and are carried through a packed town centre making it an exhilarating and risky spectacle to watch. Indeed in recent years it has nearly been called off, due to increasing public liability insurance cover [2]. Prospective participants should note that only persons having been born or lived in Ottery for most of their lives may carry a barrel[3]. Generations of the same family have been known to compete across the years. It's thought that the event is to ward off evil spirits and is similar to other British fire festivals.
Pixie Day is another old tradition that takes place annually on a Saturday in June. The day commemorates the age old legend of Ottery St. Mary's infamous 'Pixies' being banished from the town (where they caused havoc) to the local caves known as 'Pixie's Parlour'.
Near by the town is the Elizabethan Manor House of Cadhay that has several historic links to the town.
[edit] Trivia
J. K. Rowling named the fictional home village of the Weasley family in the Harry Potter series 'Ottery St. Catchpole' after Ottery St. Mary.
[edit] Church
Ottery St Mary Church was built in 1280 then rebuilt in 1337 by Bishop John Grandisson, imitating Exeter Cathedral. The great Ottery Clock in the south transept is one of only four pre-Copernican clocks in the country.
There is a hymn tune called Ottery St Mary.
