The first mention of the history of the village is in 1666, when a very large urn, containing eighty pounds weight of Roman coins, was dug up near Conquest Farm. Tradition has it that Conquest received its name from the battle in which the local 'British' were defeated by the Romans, during the reign of Emperor Vespacian.
King Alfred at that time, possessed all the lands of Lidiard; when he emerged from his troubles with the Danes, he gave the Manor to Asser, Bishop of Sherbourne, the tutor to his children, as a reward for his care over them.
In AD 909, on the creation of the See of Wells, the Manor passed to Aethelm, the first Bishop of Wells.
In the Domesday Book1086, the Manor is called LIDEGAR (the name is thought to have derived from the Celtic words Lledyad from the verb Lleydiana - to grow wide, and Garth - the word for hill). At this time it was held by Giso, Bishop of Bath and Wells, and the income was £ 13 a year.
The importance of the village is indicated by the granting of a charter, in 1291, by Edward 1 to Bishop Robert, giving Bishops Lydeard the right to hold a weekly Monday market and two six-day fairs. The original Charter can be seen displayed at the back of the Church. By 1293 the income from the Manor was £20 per annum.
In 1548 Bishop Barlowwas forced to give up much of his land to Edward VI, and the Manor passed into secular hands. In 1626 Sir John Stawell of Cothelstone purchased the Bishop's Manor. His son supported the Cavalier cause in the Civil War but was defeated by General Blake. Cothelstone was captured and sacked, Sir John was fined £25,000 and imprisoned in the Tower. After the death of the last Stawell of Cothelstone in 1692, the Bishop's Manor was placed in the trusteeship of John Periam, whose son-in-law Thomas Lethbridge bought the Manor in 1722.
The railway came to Bishops Lydeard in 1862. It was designed by lsambard Kingdom Brunei , who was appointed for four years, and who planned and laid out the line in just four months. However, he never saw it completed, as he died in September 1859. In 1874, the line was extended from Watchet to Minehead, which is now the terminus.
Along Church Streetyou come to the Church of St Mary the Virgin. The first mention of a Church in Bishops Lydeard is in a document dated 1239 but it was an important manor in King Alfred's time, when it was given to the Bishop of Sherborne, so it is certain to have had some place of worship.
The tower of the church was added c.1470 and there were considerable alterations in 1860. Of outstanding beauty is the still complete 16th Century screen which crosses the nave and other good examples of woodwork are the Jacobean pulpit and the very fine carved bench ends. The Royal Charter from Edward 1 is at the back of the Church.
In the Churchyardstands the 14th Century Churchyard Cross, while nearby stand the remains of the Village Cross, which was removed from near the entrance to Old Vicarage Lane to its present position in the mid-19th Century.
By the Churchyard is Bell Green. It was on Bell Green that the Fairs were held, often spilling into the Churchyard. In 1878 the Fairs came to an end, by which time they were but a shadow of their former selves. In the corner of Bell Green is the Old Court House. At the beginning of the 19th Century the Petty Sessions were held monthly but in late years it proved necessary to hold them weekly until 1954.