Otterton, Devon
Historical Description
Otterton, a village and a parish in Devonshire. Tha village stands on the descent of a fine elevation, adjacent to the river Otter, 2 miles N of the river's mouth, and 3 from Sidmonth station on the L. & S.W.R. It has a post office under Budleigh Salterton; money order and telegraph office, East Budleigh. It is a place of great antiquity; consists chiefly of one long street of thatched houses. The parish contains also Northmost Town, Passaford, Pinn, and Pitson, and extends to the sea. Acreage, 3454; population, 725. The manor and most of the land belong to the Rolle family. The manor of Otterton was given by William I. to the Benedictine abbey of Mont St Michel in Normandy. A priory for four monks was known to exist at Otterton in the time of King John, but was probably of earlier date. It passed, at the suppression of alien monasteries in 1414, to Sion Abbey. The land comprises a grand sweep of swells and valley, and terminates at the coast in lofty cliffs. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter; net value, £240 with residence. The church was rebuilt, except the tower, in 1871 by Lady Rolle; consists of nave, N and S aisles, chancel, with fine embattled tower, and stands on a rising ground at the SW end of the village, commanding extensive and beautiful views.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Devon | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Otterton St. Michael | |
Hundred | East Budleigh | |
Poor Law union | St. Thomas |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
Findmypast, in association with the South West Heritage Trust, Parochial Church Council, and Devon Family History Society have the Baptisms, Banns, Marriages, and Burials online for Otterton
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Otterton from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Otterton (St. Michael))
Maps
Online maps of Otterton are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers covering Devon online:
Villages, Hamlets, &c
Northmost TownPassaford
Pinn
Pitson
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of the County of Devon in the year 1564, with additions from the earlier visitation of 1531, is online.
The Visitations of the County of Devon, comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564, & 1620, with additions by Lieutant-Colonel J.L. Vivian, published for the author by Henry S. Eland, Exeter 1895 is online.