It is on the eastern part of Salisbury Plain, the largest remaining area of chalk grassland in northwest Europe.

The parish includes the hamlet of Hackthorn, on the northern outskirts of Durrington, and the military settlement of Larkhill, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the west.

[2] The village's population of about 5,000 is served by several shops, two pubs, schools covering all levels of compulsory education, and a swimming pool and fitness centre.

The Domesday Book recorded two estates in 1086, having land for one plough team and with 5 acres (2.0 ha) of meadow.

It is widely theorised that a lamp falling onto a bale of hay caused it to ignite, or possibly that a house fire got out of control.

Whatever the cause, the fire resulted in the destruction of most of the West End because most of the houses were built in an unusually close proximity to one another.

Winchester College, as lord of the manor, had to pardon a great deal of rent after failing to collect it for several years.

[8] The village remained a prosperous farming community although, apart from the church, there is little visual evidence before the 17th century.

[10] A second Durrington Fire occurred in 1921 when the thatch to the Old Rectory on Church Street caught fire, the wind took the embers over the Church tower landing on the thatched tied cottages to the south, razing most and leaving the remainder ruined.

Durrington has a fifteen-member parish council with responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny.

The council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with Wiltshire 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.

Wiltshire Council, a unitary authority, has the wider responsibility for providing services such as education, refuse collection, and tourism.

[12][13] For Westminster elections the parish is part of the East Wiltshire constituency, represented by Danny Kruger, a Conservative.

[3] Through this, the parish population has grown to that of a town, mainly due to the presence of the Larkhill military camp.

The population continued to increase as both the camp and village grew, eventually reaching 7,182 in 2001, seventeen times larger than that of 1901.

The village has three small convenience stores: a Nisa, a Sainsbury's Local and also a Tesco Express that opened in 2008.

There is also a recreation ground with football pitch, two tennis courts, a park, BMX jumps and skateboarding facilities.

[17] The building's earliest surviving features include its Norman south doorway and three-bay late-12th-century arcade.

[17] Hugall retained original features including the 13th-century Norman lancet windows on the south side of the chancel, and added the north aisle.

During 1999 the function room to the rear of the Stonehenge Inn was purchased and a new, purpose built Kingdom Hall was constructed on the site the following year.