Mere lies at the extreme SW tip of Salisbury Plain, close to the borders of Somerset and Dorset. There is an old market square (although markets have not been held for several years), a chiming town clock.

The church of St Michael the Archangel largely dates from the 13thc to the 15thc and contains remnants from an earlier building. The church has a 124 feet tower with eight bells and is unusual in that it has 10 misericords. It was restored in 1856 by T.H. Wyatt. The only Romanesque element is the statue of the Archangel Michael above the N porch.

In 1086 Mere was a royal estate that did not pay taxes and was not included although the two estates that make up the modern Zeals parish and three small holdings in Mere were included. In 1253 the manor of Mere belonged to the Earl of Cornwall, Richard, who built Mere Castle on a hill overlooking the town. The castle was abandoned in the 14thc and today only earthworks remain. The Duchy of Cornwall still owns much land in the area.

The most recent discussion of the figure is in Thurlby, 2022, who notes that Zarnecki (1983, 217-218) remarks on the very high quality of the statute which he relates to the reliefs in the outer doorway of Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire. Particularly noteworthy in this context is the bold articulation of the thigh with the emphasis of the semicircle at the top. Orbach (2021, 471) also compares the drapery and stance of the Mere sculpture to that of the Malmesbury school.