Otley
The Sign
The sign was made by Mr.E.Londbottom, who lived locally, and was erected to commemorate the 60th-anniversary of the Women's’ Institute in 1979. The sign is predominantly related to the Gosnold Family and the relationship with America. Top centre shows the Gosnold family arms with the name underneath. The map of America on the left with a wheat sheaf in the centre representing the seeds that were taken over. On the right is the ship 'Godspeed' which took Bartholomew Gosnold to the New World. Two other ships were also on the voyage, the Susan Constant and the Discovery. Also the grapes at the bottom represent the vineyards that were later established in America from seeds of Gosnold. Either side of the grape vine are the wild rose and along with the birds (green woodpecker and warbler), oak leaves and butterfly represent the natural history of the area. The sign is located near to the War Memorial
The Name and Population
The population was 676 at the 2011 census. It was known as Atelega / leia in the Domesday Book. The name means "Otta's woodland clearing" from Old English.
Other Points of Interest
The journey to the New World resulted in the founding of Jamestown in the new Colony of Virginia. Bartholomew Gosnold was a founder of the Virginia Company in London.
The church is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. t has what is believed to be one of the oldest total immersion baptismal font in any English Anglican church.
Otley Hall, a 15th-century Grade I listed house which was historically the seat of the family of Bartholomew Gosnold, is to the north of the village.