[11] In 1086, the Domesday survey recorded 13 households at (West) Ovretone, and land held by Wilton Abbey.

[12] Another 13 were at Fyfield[13] and two at East Overton,[14] both on land held by St. Swithun's Priory, Winchester; there were smaller settlements at Locherige (Lockeridge)[15] and at Shaw.

[17] The village of Shaw, southwest of West Overton and straddling the Wansdyke earthwork, was apparently deserted in the 15th century.

[17] The Wiltshire Victoria County History has an account of the many owners of the manors of Overton, Lockeridge and Shaw.

[17] By 1870, when the Overton estate was sold to the trustees of London brewery owner Sir Henry Meux, it encompassed land at Fyfield, Lockeridge and Clatford, and the woodland at West Woods.

After the death of his son in 1900, the estate was owned for a short time by Alec Taylor of Manton House.

[19] The parish falls within the area of the Wiltshire Council, a unitary authority which is responsible for all significant local government functions.

[25] Ponting also designed the parish war memorial, a tall stone cross dedicated in 1921, which stands opposite the churchyard.

[33] Overton manor house, close to the church, is from the 16th and 17th centuries with later improvements; the main wing has a tile-hung upper floor under a thatched roof, and at right angles a former barn is in red brick.

The Piggledene valley, with its sarsen stones, is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest managed by the National Trust.

Overton Hill, with prehistoric features including The Sanctuary, is to the west of the village and partly in Avebury parish.