The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry.

It is first attested in a fourteenth-century copy of a charter from 956, where it appears in the forms Cawel and Wricawel, the latter of which is agreed to be a scribal error for *Wincawel.

[3] Windmill Hill was the site of a Bronze Age Beaker culture burial, and contemporary artefacts have been found on the Selwood Ridge.

[4] Prior to the Norman Conquest Wincanton was frequently the scene of battles between the Britons, Danes and Saxons.

[5] During the reign of Edmund Ironside, the English, under his command, defeated the Danes, forcing them to leave England.

The town council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic; their role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with the district 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.

The South Somerset district council is responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism.

Prior to Brexit in 2020, residents of Wincanton also formed part of the electorate for the South West England constituency for elections to the European Parliament.

The annual mean temperature is about 10 °C (50 °F); due to the modifying effect of the sea the range is less than in most other parts of the UK.

The Atlantic depressions are more vigorous in autumn and winter and most of the rain which falls in those seasons in the southwest is from this source.

[22] In the late 1890s the West Surrey Central Dairy Company purchased a local creamery.

The creamery and dairy products factory had its own sidings from the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway station, providing access for milk trains.

In order to cope with the transport problems across its quickly expanding creamery, milk bottling and doorstep delivery network, Cow & Gate formed a dedicated logistics arm in 1920.

The company still has a dairy products base in the town, although its head office function moved to Chippenham, Wiltshire in 2005.

[23] In 1999, Unigate sold its remaining dairies to Dairy Crest, which still has a creamery and milk processing plant in the town, but has sold the cheese business to Adams Foods Ltd, producer of the Pilgrim's Choice brand of Cheddar cheese.

[28] The town is north of the A303 road, one of the main routes between London and South West England.

[36] Since 2005 it has received grants for the re-fitting of the training kitchen and construction and refurbishment to create a dedicated teaching area, counselling and interview rooms and a studio space for physical and community activities.

[47] The rugby union club plays at King Arthur's Community School in the town.

As well as with Gennes / Les Rosiers in France and Lahnau in Germany, Wincanton is twinned with Ankh-Morpork,[12] a fictional city state near the Circle Sea on Terry Pratchett's Discworld.

[52] In 2015 the Uncle Tom's Cabin pub unveiled a sign by Discworld illustrator Richard Kingston referencing The Mended Drum.