The village lies 5 miles S of Devizes. From the 13thc the vill had the affixes 'Steeple', which recalled the church steeple, and 'East', but in the 20thc it was called Market Lavington. St Mary church lies to the W of the village and is built of ashlar and sarsen rubble. The building consists of a chancel with N and S vestries, an aisled nave with clerestory, a S porch, and a W tower. The church dates from the late 13thc although it may incorporate some fabric from the earlier building as well as reusing carved fragments in the S porch. The decorated nave arcades may be revamped versions of the earlier Norman nave and the building has some Perpendicular windows. Romanesque sculpture consists of a number of fragments in the S porch, a piscina, and two fragments in the sacristy.

Before the Conquest the manor was held by Queen Edith. The Domesday Book records that in 1066 the manor of Laventone was held by Aki the Dane; in 1086 the lordship passed to Robert the Marshal, Robert Blunt, Robert of Aumale, and William of Audrieu. It was worth £20. From 1166 it was held by de la Mare family, but following William Rochelle's claims over the manor, it was divided in 1225 between the two families.

The building was largely restored by Ewan Christian in 1864: the chancel arch, the nave and part of the aisle walls were rebuilt, and buttresses were added to the S aisle. A second restoration campaign was carried out in 1910: the organ chamber and choir vestry were added to the S of the chancel, and the E wall was rebuilt.