Churches of the British Isles

The Parish Church of St Michael the Archangel, West Hill, is on the north side of Bendarroch Road, about a hundred metres east of the School Lane junction. The building was erected in 1845-1846 to save the locals from a long walk to Ottery St Mary (see 'related links'). The architect was George Wollaston, who produced a design for a nave and chancel under the same roof, in the Early English style, with lancet-headed windows filled with stained glass, plus a small bell-tower.

New Life Church Meeting (King's School Cadhay Lane), takes place in the school hall, on the eastern side of Cadhay Lane and on the western edge of Ottery St Mary. This evangelical church is shown as a place of worship only on modern maps, not on any historical ones. The meeting has been operating at least since 2009 (as shown by Google Street View) but after 2006 (thanks to details held by the Charity Commission). It replaced the Yonder Street meeting (see links).

Bishop Grandisson constructed a chapel on the old stone bridge of Ottery which was dedicated as the Chapel of Our Saviour. Its lay-hermit was authorised to collect tolls for the bridge's upkeep. Severe flooding in 1849 destroyed the bridge and presumably the chapel with it. When the new bridge was built, old maps show its alignment to be marginally different from the old one, providing better traffic flow. The chapel's name was almost given to St Michael West Hill (above).

Ottery St Mary Wesleyan Methodist Chapel is on the south side of Mill Street, offset to the east by five metres from the Mill Stream Court junction opposite, and also sitting directly opposite the town's Catholic chapel. The Wesleyan chapel was built in 1829, becoming the town's Methodist church at the 1932 union. It closed before 2025, when the keys were handed to the Ottery St Mary Silver Band as its first permanent base in a hundred-and-five years of existence.

The former St Anthony's Catholic Meeting (Raleigh House) is on the north side of Mill Street, with Mill Stream Court on its western flank. The house was also the birthplace of Dr Edward Davy (1806-1885), pioneer of the electric telegraph. The present building occupies part of the site of Sir Walter Raleigh's larger Tudor residence. A Catholic meeting here in 1929 replaced one on North Street (see links) until a purpose-built chapel arrived next door in 1935 (again, see links).

Three photos on this page by P L Kessler & Janann Blanchard, two kindly contributed by John Reeves and Alison Day via the 'History Files: Churches of the British Isles' Flickr group, and one copyright © Rob Purvis via Geograph, reused under a cc licence.