Othery
| Othery | |
|---|---|
Avon and Somerset | |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
The parish and village of Othery, established in 1515, sits on a detached extension of Sowy island on the Somerset Levels. It is 7 miles (11 km) east of Bridgwater and 4 miles (6 km) north-west of Langport. It borders the hamlets and villages of Pathe, Burrowbridge, Middlezoy, Westonzoyland and Aller, which it meets at Beer Wall. The border with Burrowbridge was defined in 1985, reducing Othery to 553 ha (1,366 acres). Many of these borders are defined by ditches and walls created and rearranged, from the 13th century onwards, to drain and channel the waters of the River Cary and the River Parrett as they flooded the low-lying levels on their way to the Bristol Channel.
History
The name means "Other-island". The "island" of Othery rising above the Levels is a mixed sedimentary and alluvial deposit: marl, Mercia mudstone, sand and gravel ("Burtle Beds"), peat, and deposits from the basin of the River Parrett. The moors on the shallowest deposits are just 13 feet (4 m) above sea level, with the highest hill, on the southwest side of Othery, standing 82 feet (25 m) above sea level.
The parish of Othery was part of the
Othery once had three
Governance
The
For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, the village comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Sedgemoor, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Bridgwater Rural District.[4]
It is also part of the
Religious sites
Othery was a chapelry of Sowy parish with its own chaplain from the 13th century. In 1515, when Sowy was divided, Othery became a separate parish with its own parish church and vicar. The church of St Michael was dedicated before 1203.
The church registers go back to 1560, but the oldest register appears to be a rather poor late 17th-century copy of the original, "crudely arranged in alphabetical order of Christian names and with a gap from K-Q."[3]
The Othery Cope, found under the mediaeval pulpit at the time of the Victorian renovations, is an extremely rare 16th-century ecclesiastical robe, restored and now housed at the Glastonbury Abbey Museum.
Othery church is one of the churches dedicated to St Michael that falls on a ley line proposed by John Michell. Other connected St Michaels on the ley line include churches built at Burrow Mump and Glastonbury Tor.
The first Vicar of Othery Parish was John Colmer (1515–1522). [5]
Reverend Andrea Harwood is current Priest in Charge. The Churchwardens as of 2021 are Mr Mervyn Winslade MBE and Mrs Maragret Harris, who are supported by the Deputy Churchwardens who are Mr Anthony Betty and Mrs Anita Winslade.
References
- ^ "Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes — SUMMARY Profiles" (Excel). Somerset Intelligence. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ^ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
- ^ a b Dunning, Robert (2004). A History of the County of Somerset.
- ^ "Bridgwater RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Othery | British History Online".
- ^ Historic England. "Church of St Michael (1060090)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
- A History of the County of Somerset (Vol. 8) Robert Dunning, Editor. 2004 pp. 134–146
External links
