Othery | |
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The Church of St Michael |
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Othery shown within Somerset | |
Population | 642 (2011) |
OS grid reference | ST3823 |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | BRIDGWATER |
Postcode district | TA7 |
Dialling code | 01823 |
Police | Avon and Somerset |
Fire | Devon and Somerset |
Ambulance | South Western |
EU Parliament | South West England |
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 rhynes (ditches) and walls (embankments) 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 leisurely journey to the Bristol Channel.
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 Whitley Hundred.
Othery once had three pubs, but currently has just one, The London Inn. It has a village shop, a post office, a bakery (Maisey's) and a primary school. There is also a very active village hall. Othery borders two Sites of Special Scientific Interest, both designated in 1985: Southlake Moor and Sedgemoor, to the north of Beer Wall.