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Summary

The existence of a pre-conquest Minster at Ottery St Mary is uncertain although there does appear to have been a pre-conquest church here. There are documentary references to a church in the 12th and 13th centuries, prior to the founding of the Secular College in the 14th century.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SY09NE/13/11

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• PRIORY (VIII to XIII - 701 AD (Between) to 1300 AD (Between))

Full description

Birch, W. G., 1892, On Three Lists of Monasteries Compiled in 13th Century, 45-64 (Article in Serial). SDV131388.

A priory, "Othery Sancti Mariae", is mentioned in a list of monasteries compiled in 13th century.

Devon County Council, 1986 - 1987, Devon Religious Houses Survey (Un-published). SDV347681.

The pre-conquest minster at Ottery St Mary was one of sixty plus religious houses investigated as part of the Devon Religious Houses Survey, a Devon County Council Rescue Project. The aims of the survey were to identify how much remains of the site and to consider how any surviving remains could be conserved for the future. The work comprised a rapid assessment of the site, summarising the present state of knowledge, followed by a more detailed survey in order to define the extent of the religious house and its plan, identify the earthwork and standing remains and assess its post-dissolution history. See separate entries for the results of the surveys.

Weddell, P. J., 1986-7, Devon Religious House Survey. Preliminary Assessment Form. Ottery St Mary: Pre-Conquest Minster (Un-published). SDV366684.

The existence of a pre-Conquest Minster here is uncertain but there does appear to have been a pre-Conquest church here.

Weddell, P. J., 1987, Devon Religious Houses Survey: Ottery St Mary (Report - Survey). SDV366679.

Some antiquarian writers have claimed that there was an alien cell monks at Ottery St Mary, a claim perpetuated by an 18th century house to the east of the church called The Priory. Although the existence of such a cell is said by Knowles and Hadcock (1972) to be disproved, the reasons behind the claim are neverthless important.
The manor of Ottery St Mary was granted to the Church of St Mary in Rouen by Edward I in 1061. There were at least medieval Benedictine monasteries in Rouen, all of which probably had daughter houses in England. It is not surprising, therefore, that the monastic connections of Rouen coupled with foreign ownership of the manor led to confusion and a claim that there was an alien cell.
here.
Reichel (1898) suggests that 'out-county' churches had oratories on the estates where they held property. Thus St Mary's of Rouen would have supported such as institution on the manor at Ottery. In an earlier charter of AD963 King Edgar granted two 'cassati' at Otheri' to Wolfhelm who was a 'minister'. It is not known if Wolfhelm was a local minister but it is significant that the manor, or part of it, was in religious hands at an early period.
The status of any pre-conquest church at Ottery, if it existed, is difficult to assess but it is likely to have been a secular establishment. The parish of Ottery St Mary was also an administrative hundred and it is notable that ecclesiastical centres were often also administrative centres in the Saxon period. The Domesday Survey, however, does not specifically mention a church at Ottery St Mary. Although this does not necessarily preclude the fact that there was one, it is considered unlikely that the survey would have not included a church exercising the central functions of a minster. It is possible, therefore, that there was a pre-conquest minster at Ottery St Mary but that this had gone by the mid-late 11th century. Alternatively there was a local manorial church which arose after the grant of 1061 which was supported by the mother church at Rouen.
There is no evidence in the topography of the present churchyard to suggest a Saxon graveyard, a 'Llan'. However, this is not surprising as the churchyard was remodelled at the time of the Collegiate foundation in the 14th century.
There are documentary references to a pre-Collegiate church in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Ordnance Survey, 2025, Mastermap 2025 (Cartographic). SDV366286.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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