CELEBRATIONS to mark an East Devon church's 750th birthday will take place next week.

Ottery St Mary Parish Church will celebrate 750 years on Friday, December 4, with a candlelit service led by the Bishop of Exeter, the Right Rev Michael Langrish.

The service, which begins at 7.30pm, will reflect on the church's past, celebrate its present role and look to the next 750 years.

The church choir will be joined by choirs from other local churches at this communion service.

After the service, there will be refreshments available including a beer, The Bronescombe Ale, brewed for the occasion by O'Hanlon's Brewery, Whimple.

The beer has been named after Bishop Walter Bronescombe who, on the feast of St Andrew in 1259, arrived in Ottery St Mary and dedicated the Church of Sancte Marie de Otery.

Today the church is regarded by many as one of the finest parish churches in the country.

The Rev Prebendary Simon Franklin said: "This service is for the Ottery community, and anyone who has been or is associated with the church.

"A service by candle light is very special indeed, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration; one which, hopefully, everyone in Ottery St Mary will recall for years to come," he said.

On Saturday, December 5, the church's bell-ringers will undertake a full peal, three hours long, to mark the anniversary.