The village is thought to date back to Saxon times and is referred to in the Domesday Book as Apletona. The village church is not quite as old - the first reference to it is in 1299, when Edward I visited and heard Mass. Parish records indicate that it was being called The Chapel of St Mary Magdalen in Appleton by 1586. It is a small Norman structure, consisting of nave, chancel and porch. The church is now a grade II listed structure, as is the Wesleyan Methodist chapel built in 1821.