[1] Bleadon was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Bledone, meaning 'coloured or variegated hill', from Old English blēo 'colour' and dūn 'hill, mountain'.

Bleadon lies on the River Axe and had been a small port, sometimes known as Lympsham Wharf, for many years, with the arrival of the railway in 1841 making this the furthest navigable point.

Supplied with men and ships, they returned to the West Country of England, the homelands of the House of Godwin, in the summer of 1068.

The two armies met at Bleadon and although Eadnoth was killed in the action, Harold's sons were defeated and returned to Ireland.

The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, such as the village hall or community centre, playing fields and playgrounds, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning.

The parish falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset which was created in 1996, as established by the Local Government Act 1992.

[14] The parish is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Weston-super-Mare county constituency.