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An out-of-the-way feeling. Step through the looking glass and find a unique, thriving community. With a striking history this literary town was the birthplace of Coleridge and also the local town of William Thackeray, the author of Vanity Fair. Whilst more recently, Ottery St Mary was featured in the Harry Potter books as “Ottery St Catchpole”.
The old wooden stocks that today reside in the shadow of the church were used as an alternative to a night in jail for drunkenness or for failure to pay fines. At the time of the English Civil war it became the regional headquarters of the king’s troops. The church of St Mary is an amazing miniature of the Exeter Cathedral and Ottery is home to a number of excellent free-house pubs, top-class restaurants (Jack-in-the-Green & Combe House) and hotels (Salston Manor, The Deer Park & Combe House) in the outlying villages. Ottery St Mary sits on the banks of the famous River Otter with very good connections with all parts of the Heart of Devon and beyond. The amazing Escot House and its Capability Brown gardens are nearby.
Ottery St. Mary is internationally renowned for its Tar Barrels, an old custom said to have originated in the 17th century, and which is held on November 5th each year. In most cases, generations of the same family carry the barrels and take great pride in doing so. It perpetuates Ottery St Mary’s great sense of tradition, of time and of history. Opinion differs as to the origin of this festival of fire, but the most widely accepted version is that it began as a pagan ritual that cleanses the streets of evil spirits. It is an incredible night to remember – one of the biggest bonfires in the south west is ignited on the banks of the River Otter and behind it are the flashing neon’s of the annual fun fair.
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