[1] The church is notable for its Gothic architecture, stained glass windows, monuments and rare octagonal central tower, reputed to be the tallest of its kind in Britain.

[3][4] By the time of the Norman Conquest, the land at South Petherton was owned by William the Conqueror himself[5] and was passed to several succeeding monarchs over the following decades.

It is likely that the church began to be gradually rebuilt from its Saxon and Norman form into a Gothic structure during the 12th century, probably using funds from the abbey.

Damage to the windows of the chancel and north nave aisle by Parliamentary troops in 1644 caused the loss of most of the medieval glass and the destruction of the organ.

The first stage, carried out from 1859 to 1860, involved completing reseating the church and the galleries, and the replacement of many of the fittings, such as the lectern and pulpit.

The south transept, which had been supplied with a chimney and grate since 1799, became the vestry, replacing the eastern end of the chancel, which until that time, had been used for the same purpose.

This involved the complete renewing of the fabric of the building, most notably adding a vivid painting to the east wall of the nave above the tower arch; the restoration of the south porch following in 1890.

[1][4][6][7][9] Situated on a small hill, the highest point of the village, the church is a significant landmark in the local area.

The chief external feature is the tall but irregular octagonal crossing tower, reputed to be the tallest example of such a structure in the country.

There is no clerestory, so the central aisle of the nave is only visible on the west gable, which has a large five-light Perpendicular Gothic traceried window with a transom above a blocked doorway.

The south porch has a moulded arch with bell capitals, a stone sexpartite vault and late 13th century inner doorway.

The south transept is one bay, and has a similar design to the chancel, with chamfered plinths, simple parapet and full-height corner buttresses.

The chancel has a wooden ceiling dating back to 1882 by Bloomfield, with a cinquefoil-cusped piscina and blocked hagioscope to the north transept.

There is a moderately sized two-manual pipe organ, located under the tower vaulting, by W. G. Vowles of Bristol, though the date of its construction is unknown.

Blackbourn provided new fittings for all the bells, including new wheels, timber headstocks, plain bearings and wrought-iron clappers.

New homes were found for the treble, which went to Horton-in-Ribblesdale in North Yorkshire; the 2nd, which was hung in Holy Trinity, Horfield, Bristol to replace a cracked bell; the 6th went to Barrow in Furness, Cumbria; and the tenor to St Charles of Borromeo, Detroit, United States.

[9][11][14][15][16] In 2012, discussions began between the tower captain and the church authorities to ring a longer length peal for charity.

The tower captain had himself been in a successful record attempt, comprising 16,368 changes of the method 'Cambridge Surprise Maximus', rang at St Philip's Cathedral in Birmingham on 15 May 1965, rung in 11 hours and 29 minutes.

[18][19] The record at South Petherton was itself broken two years later at St Anne's, Alderney, in the Channel Islands, comprising 25,056 changes of Bristol Surprise Maximus in 16 hours and 7 minutes on 25 October 2017.