The parish of Dowlish Wake was part of the South PethertonHundred. The village is situated on Dowlish Brook, which is crossed by a 17th-century packhorse bridge and a road bridge from the 18th century. There was a flour mill on the brook in the 17th century, but only the Mill House survives today. Until the early 1990s parts of the village were regularly cut off by floodwaters between two fords which cross the main road; however, this has largely been prevented by recent drainage improvements. The village was a centre for the manufacture of silk and there are the remains of several limestone quarries. It was on the route of the Chard Canal, which was built around 1835–40 and intended as part of a ship canal between the Bristol Channel and the English Channel, but this was never built. In 2004, a stone in a village garden, used by a widow to mark the grave of her pet cat, was identified by the village potter as a 9th-century Anglo-Saxon carving of St Peter. The sports pavilion on the Lawrence Kellett Recreation Field was rebuilt in 2007, but then destroyed by arson in October 2016. A designated committee is working to raise funds to rebuild it again.
Governance
As a civil parish, Dowlish Wake has its own parish council responsible for local issues, including setting an annual precept to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The council:
Evaluates local planning applications
Works with the local police, district council officers and Neighbourhood Watch groups on matters of crime, security and traffic
Manages the maintenance and repair of parish facilities
Consults with the district council on the maintenance, repair and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport and street cleaning
Manages conservation work, including trees, listed buildings and environmental issues
The village is the home Perry's Cider Mill, manufacturers of several award-winning ciders. It occupies a 16th-century barn that may originally have been used as a smithy. It features a museum, and a cafe that opened in 2008.
Manor house
The hamstone Manor House has 11th-century origins, with the present building being from all periods from the 15th century. Known as Dowlish Farm by 1688, it was held by the Wake family from the 12th century. It passed through marriage to the Speke family at the end of the 15th century; they sold it in 1920.
Dower House
The Dower House dates from 1664 and was leased to female members of the Speke family in the later 18th century, giving it its name.
Church and hall
The hamstone NormanChurch of St Andrew includes fragments of the chancel dating from the 13th century, and has a tower and aisles added in 1528. Most of it was rebuilt in 1861–62. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. Speke Hall, next to the church, was used, from its erection by William Speke, as the day and Sunday school from 1840 to 1949. It now serves as the village hall, hosting regular social functions.
