It lies on the A30 road near the Devon and Dorset borders, 15 miles (24 km) south west of Yeovil.

The parish has a population of approximately 14,000 and, at an elevation of 121 metres (397 ft), Chard is the southernmost and one of the highest towns in Somerset.

Chard subsequently witnessed the execution and traitor's death of 12 condemned rebels, who, tried by Judge Jeffreys, were hanged near the present Tesco roundabout.

Chard Reservoir, approximately a mile north east of the town, is a Local Nature Reserve, and Snowdon Hill Quarry a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest.

There are a range of sporting and cultural facilities, with secondary education being provided at Holyrood Academy; religious sites including the Church of St Mary the Virgin, which dates from the late 11th century.

The earliest evidence of settlement near Chard is the Iron Age fort of Cotley Castle overlooking the Town near Bound's Lane.

Chard's name was Cerden in 1065 and Cerdre in the Domesday Book of 1086 and it means "house on the chart or rough ground" (Old English: ćeart + renn).

Commander of the pursuing Royalist army, John Churchill, made a severe cautionary speech to the townsfolk in St Mary's.

After the rebellion collapsed, Chard witnessed the execution and traitor's death of 12 of the Duke of Monmouth's rebels, who were summarily tried and condemned at Taunton Castle by Judge Jeffreys.

[15][16] James Gillingham (1839–1924) from Chard pioneered the development of articulated artificial limbs when he produced a prosthesis for a man who lost his arm in a cannon accident in 1863.

[26] Prior was banned from holding public office for nine months but was returned to council (as an independent Councillor) in a 2010 by-election.

[27] The South Somerset district council is responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism.

The civil parish of Chard Town (its formal name) contains six electoral wards – Avishayes, coombe, Crimchard, Holyrood, Jocelyn and shepards lane.

Chard is part of the Yeovil county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Chard is twinned with Helmstedt in Germany (since 12 April 1980), Morangis, Essonne in France (since 29 May 1994) and Șeica Mare in Transylvania, Romania.

Local folklore claims that the town has a very unusual and unique feature, a stream running along either side of Fore Street.

[30] The 36.97 hectares (91.4 acres) Chard Reservoir, around a mile northeast of the town, is a Local Nature Reserve.

[31] Species which are seen regularly include grey herons, kingfishers, great cormorants, little grebes, ducks and also a wide range of woodland songbirds.

[32] Snowdon Hill Quarry is a 0.6 hectare (1.3 acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the western outskirts.

The site shows rock exposures through the Upper Greensand and Chalk, containing fossil crustaceans which are both unique and exceptionally well-preserved making it a key locality for the study of palaeontology in Britain.

[34] In the summer the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England, however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine.

In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms.

Chard is the home of Numatic International Limited, notable for its 'Henry' vacuum cleaners with the characteristic large smiling face.

Following collective consultation with its employees, the company decided to close the Chard sites, with most of the staff employed there becoming redundant.

It was expected that the transfer of Oscar Mayer's Chard manufacturing business to its other UK sites would be complete by the end of September 2021.

For five years LSWR trains continued to call at Chard Town and then reversed to the connecting line and then resumed their forward journey to the Joint station.

Passenger trains ceased to operate to Chard Central on 11 September 1962, and private goods traffic on 3 October 1966.

There is also a service to Yeovil via Crewkerne provided by South West Coaches Chard has a number of local sport clubs.

The original school building in Fore Street was built in 1583 a private residence for William Symes of Poundisford.

[57] The three-stage tower has moulded string courses and an angle stair turret in the north-west corner.