In the Avon Gorge, it was first found by William Turner in 1562, one of the first rare plants to be documented in Britain. The stronghold of the species is in the western Mendip Hills, where it was first found by Dillenius in c.1726. Here, in addition to the Crook Peak and Sand Point sites, it is found on Purn Hill, on Wavering Down, Cross Plain and Axbridge Hill, at Hellenge Hill and South Hill near Bleadon, and the nearby coastal limestone sites of Worlebury Hill and Uphill Cliff and Walborough. Although many other rare limestone plants occur there, Honewort has not been found on Brean Down. In Devon, the species is found at a single site, Berry Head.