Ottery St Mary

Town in Devon, England, 19 km/12 mi east of Exeter, on the River Otter; population (2001) 8,200. The church of St Mary dates from 1061 and has a Norman font. The poet Samuel Coleridge was born in Ottery St Mary. The Vale of Otter is noted for its scenery and trout fishing.

Examples of Elizabethan architecture are found in the area at Cadhay and Knightstone. Escot Grange was the ‘Fairoaks’ of Pendennis by William Thackeray. An annual carnival, said to have originated in 1688, is held on 5 November.

In the 14th century Bishop Grandison (1292–1369) rebuilt much of the church's 13th-century structure, transforming it into a collegiate church; it held this status until the Reformation. The building bears striking similarities to Exeter Cathedral, on which Grandison also worked.