The name derives from the
Celtic crug, "hill"(although local residents think it means "creek", because the area is relatively flat), and the parish
church of St. Michael, which dates from the 13th century. Creech St Michael was part of the
hundred of
Andersfield. Charlton House is a Grade II listed manor house, formerly in the ownership of the
Acland and Coombe families. The
Bridgwater & Taunton Canal provides a picturesque route through the village for pleasure boats, and the
towpath is open to pedestrians and cyclists. There are also dramatic remains of the
Chard Canal, including the (filled) junction with the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal, a raised embankment leading south from the village, a ruined
aqueduct that would have carried the canal over the River Tone, and the abutments of a second aqueduct across a local road. The
Bristol and Exeter Railway line was opened through the village in 1842 and the junction of the
Chard Branch Line was located here in 1860, but
Creech St Michael railway station was not opened until 13 August 1928. The station was actually north of the junction so was only used by trains to
Yeovil and
Bristol. It closed on 5 October 1964 but the line is still open, forming a part of the
London to Penzance main line. The branch is closed but remains of it are visible. including the skeleton of a five-arched bridge across the River Tone, and an embankment curving south, parallel to the abandoned canal. A large paper mill was built on the river to the west of the village in 1875, finally closing in 1993. In the
Second World War, a line of fortifications was built on the boundary of the village, as part of the
Taunton Stop Line. The line was meant to contain any German invasion of the south west peninsula. Several
pillboxes remain along the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal, one at the old junction with the Chard canal, and one on the embankment of the Chard railway. ==Governance==