The parish had a population of 422 in 2011,[1] and includes the villages of Woolley and Langridge and the hamlet of Lansdown (not to be confused with the Bath suburb of the same name).

Charlcombe is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 under the name "Cerlecume", meaning in Old English "valley of the ceorls" (freemen or peasants).

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 Bath and North East Somerset which was created in 1996, as established by the Local Government Act 1992.

The local geology of the Swainswick valley around Sopers Wood, in the south Cotswolds, has been investigated because of the presence of landslides since the work of William Smith in 1799.

[14] Every year in February and March, Charlcombe Lane is closed by the local council to enable frogs and toads to cross the road in safety.

During this period local residents and volunteers go out at dusk, the time of greatest movement, collecting them in buckets and depositing them on the other side of the road, allowing them to continue their journey safely towards a lake in the Charlcombe valley on a tributary of the Lam Brook.