Click Here to be directed to Ottery St Mary Town Council's website. Ottery St Mary Parish is one of the oldest and most historic towns in England, sheltered by rolling hills and surrounded by picturesque villages - ALFINGTON, ESCOT, GOSFORD, FENNY BRIDGES, FAIRMILE, METCOMBE, WIGGATON, TIPTON ST JOHN and WEST HILL. The Parish occupies mainly the valley of the Otter from which it takes its name, but it reaches east and west to higher ridges from which there are superb views over a luxuriant countryside. William of Orange dined here in Ottery in 1688 on his way to London to claim the throne from James II. Ottery St Mary has proved to be inspiration for a host of literary greats down the centuries. Many have lived in Ottery, some holidayed, many remained - writers such as Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, Thomas Hardy, Jane Austen, John Keats, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Rudyard Kipling, Tennyson, Shelley, Oscar Wilde.