Hodnet was an Anglo-Saxon settlement with a small church. The Domesday Survey records that in 1066 the manor of 'Odenet' was held by King Edward, and it valued £8; a priest is mentioned here. In 1086 the lordship passed to Earl Roger, founder of Shrewsbury Abbey, and the church was amongst the endowments and the properties he granted to the abbey. The church was dedicated to St Peter and St Paul until 1420. In the early 14thc the Ludlow family acquired the manor.