Donyatt is a string of houses and farms extending for approximately a mile along the A358, alongside the river Isle, 1½ miles SW of Ilminster in the district of South Somerset. The church is in the centre of the village, near the river. The sculpture discussed here is set into a fieldwall in the parish, in private hands and not open to public view. It is generally assumed to be associated with the parish church (although not necessarily the present building).

Donyatt was held by Adulf, Saewine and Dunstan as three manors before the Conquest, when it paid geld for 5 hides. In 1086 it was held by Drogo from Count Robert of Mortain. In addition to the ploughland there were recorded 20 acres of meadow, 50 acres of meadow (sic. presumably one of these is pasture) and a park, as well as a mill without rent.

The stone was recovered from the manorial chapel of the former manor house of William Montacute, second earl of Salisbury, which was within 500m of the stone’s present location. Aston & Hall (2004) described the figure as, 'wearing a hat, smooth tunic and a very wide belt, below which are carefully carved genitals. There are no signs of a face, nor that one has been hacked off. The right side of the figure has been removed when the block was squared for re-use'. They attempted to source the sheila-na-gig at the parish church, but it may be connected with an older church attached to the manor. This representation is much more static than that at Fiddington, but in compensation for an absence of liveliness it has a robust confrontational power. She is not easily ignored. Perhaps we should imagine her straining to escape the restraint of the waistband by pushing against the slab.