According to Robinson it is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as Harpetreu meaning 'The military road by the wood' from the Old English herepoep and treow.

[3] In November 1887, while searching for the source of a spring, a labourer called William Currell put his pick into a pewter vessel full of Roman coins.

The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, such as the village hall or community centre, playing fields and playgrounds, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning.

[9] The parish is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of North East Somerset and Hanham.

According to the 2001 census the Mendip ward (which includes West Harptree and Hinton Blewett), had 1,465 residents, living in 548 households, with an average age of 39.0 years.

[10] The nearby Harptree Combe is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and slightly further southwest towards Priddy are the Lamb Leer Cavern and Wurt Pit and Devil's Punchbowl SSSIs.

Squared, irregular coursed rock-faced sandstone with stone dressings, plain tile roof and wooden bargeboards.

Commemoration tablet beneath circular clock face set in chamfered stone surround with the inscription: 'TIME FLIES DONT DELAY' - each word in separate spandrels.

[12] The castle was demolished by its owner, Sir John Newton, in the reign of Henry VIII to build a house nearby called Eastwood.

In 1138 it was strongly garrisoned by its owner, William de Harptree, on behalf of the Empress Matilda, but was taken by Stephen by the ruse of a feigned repulse.

In 2011 and 2012, Harptree Court played host to the reality television series The Great British Bake Off.

[20] Following his death in 1568 Sir John's huge, canopied tomb stands in the Norman porch of the Church of St Laurence, which itself is a Grade II* listed building,[21] parts of which date from the 12th century.