Ottery St Catchpole

**Ottery St Catchpole** is a small village located in Devon, England. It was presumably named after a Saint Catchpole.

The village has both a Muggle and a magical community, the latter quietly established after the passing of the Statute of Secrecy in the 17th century. Four wizarding families are known to live around Ottery St Catchpole: the Weasleys, the Fawcetts, the Diggorys, and the Lovegoods.

## Known locations

### The Burrow

The Burrow is the home of the Weasley family, located in the south of the village and hidden behind hills and trees. On the other side of the village from the Burrow is a fairly large hill called Stoatshead Hill. This was also Harry Potter's temporary home.

### Small Cottage

A small cottage sorrounded by a cluster of low hills was located a few hours' walking distance from the Weasley home, described as having a neat little kitchen with geraniums on the windowsill, although it seemed to be deserted by the time the Trio walked past it, suggesting that the residents either had gone into hiding or went missing as a result to the war. This might be the family home of either the Diggory family or the Fawcett family.

### The Lovegood House

The Lovegood family resides in a house shaped like a rook not too far from the Burrow. It is hidden among the hills and surrounded by gardens.

### Paper shop

There is a paper shop in the Muggle part of the village where a very pretty girl works as a shopgirl, who Fred and George have a liking for.

### Post office

There exists a post office within the village which houses a telephone. On 1 September 1994, Molly Weasley went to the post office to use the phone, despite her unfamiliarity with using one, and ordered three ordinary Muggle taxis to drive Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and the Weasley family to King's Cross Station in London.

### Stoatshead Hill

Stoatshead Hill is a steep hill located outside the village of this town. One of two hundred sites throughout Britain selected to house Portkeys to the 1994 Quidditch World Cup. There were large tufts of grass and holes built by rabbits that people could fall in.

### Forest

There exists a small forested area near the Burrow in the village.

## Known residents

* Fleur Delacour (summer 1996 - 1 August, 1997)
* Amos Diggory
* Cedric Diggory
* Mrs Diggory
* S. Fawcett
* Luna Lovegood
* Pandora Lovegood
* Xenophilius Lovegood
* Paper shop girl
* Red-haired Muggle boy
* Arthur Weasley
* Charlie Weasley (c. 1972 - 1991)
* Fred Weasley (1978 - 1996)
* George Weasley (1978 - 1996)
* Ginny Weasley<
* Molly Weasley
* Percy Weasley (1976 - 1995)
* Ron Weasley
* Bill Weasley (c. 1970 - 1989; 1995 - 1997)

## Etymology

The name is most likely a reference to the real Devon town of Ottery St Mary. Ottery St Mary is near Exeter, the city where Rowling went to university, so it is plausible that she visited it, or at least had heard of it. There are also several locations near Ottery St Mary that include "Burrow" in their names, possibly making them namesakes for the Weasleys home. The word *Ottery* means "on the river Otter." *Catchpole* gives an impression of a Quidditch goal post or, perhaps, a fishing rod. However, Merriam-Webster defines "catchpole" as a Middle English term for a sheriff's deputy, usually assigned to collect a debt - possibly a humorous reference to the impoverished Weasleys.