According to Robinson it was listed as Camelie in the 1086 Domesday Book and the name means 'The curved river meadow' from the Celtic cam and Old English leah.

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.

Cameley is part of the Mendip Ward which is represented by one councillor on the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset which was created in 1996, as established by the Local Government Act 1992.

[7] The parish is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of North East Somerset and Hanham.

According to the 2001 Census the Mendip Ward (which includes West Harptree and Hinton Blewett), had 1,465 residents, living in 548 households, with an average age of 39.0 years.

The tower, probably from the 15th century with 19th-century restoration, is built of red Mendip stone which contrasts with the local blue lias limestone of the rest of the church.

Fragments from the 12th to the 17th century have been identified, the most impressive being the fine early-17th-century Ten Commandments over the chancel arch, framed in twining leaves with cherubs' faces peering out.

There are two early-19th-century monuments on the north wall of the nave to the Rees-Mogg family of Cholwell House within the parish, and a brass plaque commemorating the nine people from the village who died in World War I.