The village was immortalised in song by Adge Cutler in 1968 with the composition The Charlton Mackrell Jug Band.

The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning.

Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.

It is also part of the Glastonbury and Somerton county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

[11] Just outside the village to the south-west, near the main Langport and Castle Cary Railway line, is the 14 acres (5.7 ha) Green Down Nature Reserve run by the Somerset Wildlife Trust.

It is on the side of Windmill Hill and provides a habitat for a range of species, including the largest number of large blue butterflies anywhere in the world.

[12] At the eastern end of the reserve is a Powder House, which was used by the Great Western Railway to store dynamite used in the construction of the Somerton Tunnel from 1903 to 1905.

The house takes its name from the fact that it was the site of the Chantry Chapel of the Holy Spirit, founded in 1237, of which some fragments may be incorporated.