Ottery St Mary
Ottery St Mary photos (17 available)
Ottery St Mary maps (2 available)
Map of Devon
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Ottery St Mary books (26 available)
Barnstaple Town Walk Guide
Paperback
Torbay Photographic Memories
Paperback
Exmoor Photographic Memories
Paperback
- 2 photos on Ottery St Mary appear in 2 Frith books - View photos of Ottery St Mary
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Ottery St Mary and Devon
Ottery St Mary memories
Read and share memories of Ottery St Mary and Devon inspired by Frith photos
Our house!
How funny! We now own and live in this house. It has barely changed since this photograph, although it is no longer a guest house and its name is different. There are some barns and a coach house in the background which have been partly demolished; a small conservatory has been added to the left of the porch. We believe the people who ran it as a guest house were called Haywood, his first name being Cecil. He had been a manager at the factory in Ottery (since closed). Mrs Haywood was famous for her cooking. They rented it from Lord Coleridge (known as "Lordy"). It was called "The Cottage" because it had been Lady Devon's Cottage, a dower house for ...read more here
Contributed by Robert Baker
Devon memories
Our house!
How funny! We now own and live in this house. It has barely changed since this photograph, although it is no longer a guest house and its name is different. There are some barns and a coach house in the background which have been partly demolished; a small conservatory has been added to the left of the porch. We believe the people who ran it as a guest house were called Haywood, his first name being Cecil. He had been a manager at the factory in Ottery (since closed). Mrs Haywood was famous for her cooking. They rented it from Lord Coleridge (known as "Lordy"). It was called "The Cottage" because it had been Lady Devon's Cottage, a dower house for ...read more here
A memory of Ottery St Mary contributed by Robert Baker
Evacuee
My name was Evelyn Smith "Eve". I was evacuated to my uncle and aunt's home during the war. My uncle was Sidney Smith - he was station master. We lived at 3 Coombe Lea. Miss Richardson was our school teacher - a really beautiful lady and an excellent teacher. My best friend was Nancy Leach - she lived in Dawes Cottage. I remember the gypsies who came through the village - the eldest girl was named Caroline. There were twin boys who lived on a farm - can't remember their names. Skinner's farm was just down the lane from 3 Coombe Lea - they brought fresh milk to our house every day - or maybe we fetched it from the farm ...read more here
A memory of Tipton St John contributed by Eve White
Carter family of Harpford
My forebears came from the village of Harpford. In the Tithe schedule of 1839 Joel Carter rented the small cottage in the centre of the photo and also the cottage on the far right (which had a workshop at the back.) Joel was born at Podbury's Cottage (then a farm) which I think is at the back of this photo - certainly Podbury's is the main subject of the other Harpford photo. In the 21st century all these buildings are still there, little altered externally except that there is now more vegetation - trees/bushes etc. Joel Carter farmed at Harts which was on the outskirts of the village and has long been destroyed. Joel and his wife Mary (nee Paver) had ...read more here
A memory of Harpford contributed by anne speight
Extracts From Ottery St Mary & Devon books
Set in the midst of particularly fertile part of the county, Ottery had
a market for centuries. John Coleridge was the Ottery vicar in the
18th century and his son, the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (‘Rime
of the Ancient Mariner’ and ‘Kubla Khan’) went to school here.
The awnings are down over the windows; it is a hot, sunny day.
An extract from from"Devon Pocket Album".
This view was taken from the building at the very end of Morton Crescent. To the immediate left is the Imperial Hotel,
seen in its original architectural design, changed now after the fire in the 1970s.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".
By the middle of the 20th
century we see something
resembling the modern
scene. There is the more
familiar red telephone
box on the traffic island,
a modern post box, and
Belisha beacons to aid
pedestrians wishing to
cross the road. In the
centre of the photograph
is the white tower of the
Pavilion Theatre. Much of
the street furniture was
removed by the start of
the 21st century, leaving
a more traffic-dominated Esplanade.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".
The construction of a substantial
sea wall, seen here in section to the
right, led to Exmouth’s prosperity
as a seaside resort. Before the
wall was built, much of the sea
front was marshland and sand
dunes, and subjected to constant
flooding. The first section of the
wall was completed in 1842, paid
for by the local landowner John
Rolle. It was 1,900 feet long and
constructed from Devon limestone.
The designer was John Smeaton, a
veteran engineer and the designer
of London Bridge.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".
This fine view looks across the
clock tower and Morton Crescent
to the estuary of the River Exe, with
Starcross and the Haldon Hills in
the distance.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".