Othery

"OTHERY, a parish in the hundred of Whitley, county Somerset, 7 miles E. of Bridgwater, its post town, and 4½ N.W. of Langport railway station. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on the river Parret, which forms its western and southern boundaries, and is traversed by the high road from Taunton to Bath, and by that from Bridgwater to Langport. It is wholly agricultural. The soil is of a sandy and loamy nature, with a subsoil of limestone. There is a quarry of good building-stone. The parish includes the hamlet of Boroughbridge, and once belonged to the abbey of Glastonbury, to which it was given by Alfred the Great. The appropriation belongs to the Bishop of Bath and Wells. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Bath and Wells, value £166, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is an ancient cruciform structure, with a tower 75 feet high, containing five bells. The register dates from 1560. There is a National school, at which a Sunday-school is also held. The Independents have a place of worship." From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson © 2003