The Annual Lunch of the Ottery Heritage Society was held at the Tumbling Weir Hotel, Ottery St Mary, on Saturday October 22nd. This is the key event in the Society’s calendar when members and guests gather to celebrate the birth, here in Ottery, of world famous poet and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge. They were joined by members of the Coleridge family, several of whom being descendants of the great man himself, who were making the pilgrimage to take part in the town’s first Coleridge Literary Festival.

Born in 1772, Coleridge was a charming, but difficult and complex man who became one of the most controversial characters of the 19th century. Perhaps best known for his ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, it was the publication of his notebooks and letters, sixty years after his death, which fully revealed Coleridge’s courage and determination, and the true depth of his creative genius.

Toasting the future success of the Society, chairman Robert Neal glossed the progress of the Society over the past thirteen years, in particular their emphasis on raising the profile of S T Coleridge in the town; he also highlighted the town’s recent completion of the new Coleridge footbridge and the exciting community initiative to erect a fitting memorial to Ottery’s most famous son, The Coleridge Memorial Project, which has captured local support and enthusiasm to generate the necessary funding for the Kubla Khan Poetry Stones.

Heritage Society Trustee, Betty Williams proposed the toast to the memory of STC. Guest speaker was Chris Wakefield, the local historian, founder trustee of the Heritage Society and Chairman of the Coleridge Memorial Project. Confessing his passion for ‘all things Coleridge’ he chose as his theme an analysis of the great man as a humourist and master of the witty repost. Coleridge’s notebooks include jokes and witty remarks that he has collected – as if these were gems he could not fashion for himself.

Chris took the opportunity to remind his audience of his newly published book ‘ColeridgeSauce’ - a collection of humorous snippets and witticisms from the pen of STC, or by his acquaintances. Published by the Coleridge Memorial Project, copies can be purchased from outlets in the town.
Trustee Hazel Abley gave the vote of thanks to the speaker, commenting on his diverse talents and many contributions he has made to the running of the Society.

The management and staff of the Tumbling Weir Hotel were thanked for a splendid meal and their usual courteous hospitality.

Pictured: Mrs Gay Dobson, Mayor Glyn Dobson, Rosemary Coleridge Middleton, Robert Coleridge Middleton at the Heritage Society Annual Coleridge Lunch, held at the Tumbling Weir Hotel. (Picture by Phyllis Baxter).