North-east of the village and within the parish boundary is Maesbury Castle, an Iron Age hill fort.

In 1848 the River Sheppey powered two mills for grinding corn, one for winding silk, and another used as a stocking manufactory.

It is heavily weathered (the rock type is oolite - a soft limestone), especially on the front right where it served as a seat for patrons of the adjacent former public house now known as The Cross [7] bed and breakfast.

In August 1861 the local waywardens decided that the village cross was a hindrance to the public way and endeavoured to remove it.

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.

The village falls within the non-metropolitan district of Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Wells Rural District,[10] which 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.

[11] It is also part of the Wells and Mendip Hills county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The large Church of St Mary the Virgin is of particular interest, having an unusual spire for Somerset, and Jacobean interior woodwork of national renown.