South Petherton is a large village in Somerset located 5 mi E of Ilminster and 5 mi N of Crekerne. Prior to construction of the A303 trunk road, South Petherton was a hub of South Somerset at which converge at least eight roads from a network of small villages. This is an extremely fertile area, its Yeovil Sands (Upper Lias) enabling successful production of fruit and vegetables. The landscape is gentle and without much relief (South Petherton church being at c.40m above OD). The church of St Peter and Paul (Grade I listed) is built of Ham stone ashlar and is cruciform with a central crossing tower, nave with aisles and chancel. It has Anglo-Saxon origins, though with the exception of a 13thc crosswing is mostly of the 15thc. Romanesque elements consist of some resited corbels and a sculpture fragment.

In 1086 the manor of South Petherton, probably a longstanding possession of the Saxon royal house, still belonged to the Crown. Henry II gave it to Hamelin of Mayenne, a Norman, from whom it passed to Hamelin's brother Joel, whose English lands were seized by King John after the loss of Normandy. Thereafter South Petherton came into the ownership of the Daubeney family. (VCH Somerset, Vol 4).

There were major restorations at the church in the late 19thc-early 20thc by Blomfield and others.

Both S porch corbels in the fieldworker's opinion come into the category of ‘crude’ sculpture, probably the work of local artisans. They appear to represent Leo and Sagitarius, so may have been part of a cycle of the twelve signs of the Zodiac. These, together with the evidence of the lozenge-decorated shaft section, suggest the former presence of a reasonably substantial Romanesque church here long before the present building was constructed. This would fit well with the settlement's royal status in the 11thc.