It is served by six churches, four pubs, five schools, a library, various shops and local businesses, a village hall, and many community and sports organisations.

The first evidence of people living in the area consists mainly of a number of flint axeheads that have been found within the village and which date from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic (Old and Middle Stone Ages).

The Roman Second Legion under Vespasian arrived in the Corfe Mullen area during the fifth decade of the 1st century AD and built a 40-acre (16 ha) fortress just to the north of the village at Lake Farm, Ashington.

The location of this fortress was important; the River Stour provided a defensive barrier to the north and the site is only 3 miles (4.8 km) from the Iron Age hillfort at Badbury Rings.

To subjugate the local tribes and keep themselves supplied and in communication with other Roman centres, the Legion built several roads that run through or close to the area.

Probably the most important of these, and the only one visible today, is the road that connected the deep water anchorage at Morionio (now Hamworthy) and Lake (now Ashington), and continues northwards to Badbury and Hod Hill.

A number of other land holdings dating from this period have been found around the village, the most notable being at Mountain Clump and the Knoll, where the remains of cottages may be seen.

After the Norman Conquest, Corf's entry in the Domesday Book shows that it appears to have been a single manor under 'Robert, son of Gerold', but was previously held by two Saxon lords: Waga and Egelric.

This merger was probably driven by the general depopulation of the country that occurred in the Middle Ages due to migration to the towns and the Black Death.

During the reign of Queen Victoria, more toll roads were constructed, including an extension to Mill Street which provided a new route from Bere Regis to Wimborne.

These included soldiers from the 1317th Engineer General Services Regiment who came to build the Tarrant Rushton aerodrome for the use of “Dakota” transport aircraft and gliders, in preparation for D-Day.

During the first decade of the 21st century, proposals were made by the South West Regional Assembly to build 800 new homes on green belt land on the edge of the village.

The developments were shelved and East Dorset District Council later published more modest plans to build on the sites of the middle school or recreation ground.

Corfe Mullen is a dormitory settlement for people working in the nearby towns and cities of Wimborne, Poole, Bournemouth, Ferndown, Verwood and Southampton.

The countryside around the village is split between agriculture and heathland, with woodland to be found fringing most areas, the largest of which is Stoney Down Plantation to the west.