Ottery St. Mary No. 2 / Ottery Saint Mary

There is an entry for Ottery [St Mary] in the Domesday survey [https://opendomesday.org/place/SY0995/ottery-st-mary/] [accessed 2 August 2021] but it mentions neither priest nor church in it. Noted in John Murray's Handbook for travellers […] (1865): "The font is new, from Butterfield's design, and of Devon and Cornish marbles." Stabb (1908) explains that "the old font is buried beneath a modern construction of many coloured marbles, a fine font, but out of keeping with the church." In Pevsner (1952). Betjeman (1952) states that Butterfield's restoration of 1850 "did less harm than might be expected" in this church, but adds: "his font is dreadful". Although the font at Ottery St. Mary dates from the mid-19th century we have included it here as a noteworthy example of the permanence of some old-font designs and the introduction of creative material use. It is quite a piece, as the description in English Parish Churches (1976) indicates: "[...] eccentric font of 1850 which so conspicuously contrasts with its medieval surroundings. It not only shows Butterfield's love of bright, patterned colour but his interest in local materials, which he exploited more than any builder of the Gothic period. All the marbles of which this piece is made are from Devon and Cornwall, with the exception of the white, which came from Sicily. The arcaded cover, with its projections like bishops' thrones and an extraordinary metal crowning feature, sits on the square basin and stumpy Byzantine columns with disconcerning authority." The brief entry for this church in Historic England [Listing NGR: SY0985295580] notes that the medieval church had been "Consecrated by Bishop Bronescombe in 1260" and that its "interior was restored drastically mid C19 by Butterfield and others." [cf. Index entry for Ottery St. Mary No. 1 for the earlier font now buried underneath the present one]