Easton's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the eastern farmstead or settlement.

Easton's parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter and dates from the Fourteenth Century.

St. Peter's was left towerless after a collapse in the Eighteenth Century, which was subsequently replaced by a bellcote which also does not survive.

The college is centred around Easton Hall, an Eighteenth Century manor house with Grade II listed status.

The village's national constituency is South Norfolk which has been represented by the Labour's Ben Goldsborough MP since 2024.