Stow-on-the-Wold is a former market town lying on the Fosse Way 19 miles NE of Cirencester, at the centre of the ancient parish that bears its name. The town stands against the east side of the Fosse Way where the road tops a prominent hill above the 750-ft. level, and can be seen for many miles around. The church lies on the west side of the market square. It is built of rubble and ashlar masonry with Cotswold stone roofs and comprises chancel, N vestry and organ-chamber, N transept, clerestoried nave, N and S aisles, N and S porches, with a tower in the position of a S transept. It has been rebuilt and restored at several dates, notably by J. L. Pearson in 1846-47. 12thc work survives in the masonry of the W wall of the nave and in the reset capitals of the E respond of the S nave arcade.

The manor is not recorded in Domesday Book but was probably entered under Maugersbury as both settlements were held in 1086 by Evesham Abbey. Stow-on-the-Wold later gained in prominence due to its position on the Fosse Way.