St. Mary’s, Ottery St. Mary

On my way home I called in St. Mary’s. A wonderful church and justly famous. This really is worth looking at, being almost a miniature cathedral. It is open each day.

The sign boards outside only give details of the services and concerts here but there was a welcome on an ‘A frame’ in the porch.

There are some laminated histories, in various languages. These can also be downloaded from the church website – http://www.otterystmary.org.uk/ which is a very useful touch.

The guide book had sold out. Also there was a prayer diary. There is a small area for the use of children.

A lot of thought has gone into catering for visitors here. There is a well stocked little shop with prints, cards, tea towels, Christian jewellery, books etc. for sale.

The visitors book showed 63 people in the last 25 days.

There is a good display about Samuel Taylor Coleridge here. It is always good to tell the story of any one well known who is associated with a church.

I also liked how some lights had been left on in order to highlight features of the building. Also featured are some history displays and some photos of the roof bosses here.

There was a display of Mothers Union material, featuring some of their excellent leaflets and also of mission links abroad.

The Lady Chapel is set aside for prayer as is the one on the north side of the church. These have some prayer ideas in them to guide people. A Memory Book was also available for those who had the misfortune to have a miscarriage or a still born child. This is very moving and must bring real comfort.

All in all, a very worthwhile church to visit, for all sorts of reasons. I rate it as excellent. Do go and have a look.