Ottery Heritage Museum

About the museum

The Ottery Heritage Museum is run by the Ottery St Mary Heritage Society, a charity founded in 1999 with about 150 members who research and record the town’s heritage. The museum first opened in 2004 and closed around 2007. It reopened in 2017, when the Heritage Society gained the building, and welcomed more than 1,000 visitors in its first three months.

The museum is in the Old Town Hall in The Flexton. Most of the displays are upstairs, while the ground floor has a projected display for visitors who cannot climb the stairs, a meeting room that can be hired and a research room. The museum was extensively rebuilt during the Covid period, with new display panels and cases, a mini-cinema and interactive displays, and the collections were expanded for 2026 to tell the story of the town and its past residents.

Themes include the local literary connections of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Makepeace Thackeray and the diplomat Ernest Satow, the Tar Barrels tradition and the history of St Mary’s Church, its College and the later King’s School. The museum also covers the town’s role in the English Civil War and its social and cultural history over about 2,000 years, supported by an image library and an audio collection.

Highlights

• Displays on the Ottery Tar Barrels tradition
• Literary links to Coleridge, Thackeray and Ernest Satow
• History of St Mary’s Church, its College and the King’s School
• Mini-cinema and interactive displays
• Free entry in the Old Town Hall

Permanent exhibitions

• Ottery Tar Barrels and town traditions – Displays on the Tar Barrels tradition and on Pixie Day, with the history of St Mary’s Church and the town.
• Literary connections – The town’s links with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Makepeace Thackeray and the diplomat Ernest Satow.

Founded

2004

Operated by

Ottery St Mary Heritage Society (registered charity)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free; donations are welcome and can be made by card reader.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Most of the museum is upstairs and stairs limit access. The ground floor has a projected display for visitors who cannot use the stairs, a research room and a meeting room.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

The museum states that families and children are welcome.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

No café, shop or toilet information is published.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

A meeting room on the ground floor of the Old Town Hall can be hired.

Plan your visit