This square is perhaps unique in containing two medieval parish churches, belonging to the same village parish. This comes about as follows: The name Sutton Bonington suggests a village with the relatively common name of Sutton (South Town/Farm) to which a family name (Bonington) has been appended. In this case however, the name formally results from the merger in 1829 of the two villages of Bonington and Sutton, although apparently as early as the 14th century they were referred to by the combined name. The Bonington element derives (probably) from Buna's Farm. Interestingly, the two ecclesiastical parishes were not merged until 1923, and only from 1950 was a single rector in charge of the parish. Ecclesiastically the two churches have equal status; despite its smaller size, St Anne's is not, and never has been, a chapel of ease.