[6] Until the early 1990s parts of the village were regularly cut off by floodwaters between two fords which cross the main road; however, this has largely been prevented by recent drainage improvements.

[7] The sports pavilion on the Lawrence Kellett Recreation Field was rebuilt in 2007, but then destroyed by arson in October 2016.

As a civil parish, Dowlish Wake has its own parish council responsible for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny.

Residents of Dowlish Wake also formed part of the electorate for the South West England constituency for elections to the European Parliament, prior to Britain leaving the European Union in January 2020,[10] which elected seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.

[13] The Dower House dates from 1664 and was leased to female members of the Speke family in the later 18th century, giving it its name.

[14] The hamstone Norman Church of St Andrew includes fragments of the chancel dating from the 13th century, and has a tower and aisles added in 1528.

[17] The Manor was the home of the family of John Hanning Speke who took part in three expeditions to Central Africa from 1854 to 1862, the last two in search of the source of the Nile.

Speke was killed in Neston Park in Wiltshire by his own gun while hunting with his cousin on 18 September 1864; Dr David Livingstone and Sir Roderick Murchison, President of the Royal Geographical Society, attended his funeral.