The name 'Chailey' has gone through various forms of spelling, 'Chagel' (1091), 'Cheagele' (1095), 'Chaggeley' (1269) and 'Chaleghe' (1534), but since the 'g' is silent, the modern spelling is equivalent to its earlier forms.

One of the early documents tells us that there was a Church in the village in the 13th century, (AD 1269). An inquiry into the property of a gentleman named Richard de Plaiz in that year includes the sentence: ".the advowson of the Church of Chaggeleys pertaining to the aforesaid Richard is worth 12 marks (31st July 1269)." This is therefore a very ancient Church, probably even older than that date, but which over the centuries has occasionally undergone work to adapt the building to meet new circumstances. This will be pointed out as we take you round the Church.