Charney was held by Abingdon Abbey in 1086, and remained in the possession of the monks until the Dissolution. The advowson of the church was also held by the monks of Abingdon. Charney was traditionally a chapelry attached to the parish of Longworth, and is so treated in the VCH. Its present status is as a constituent of the United Benefice of Cherbury and Gainfield, along with Longworth, Hinton Waldrist, Buckland, Littleworth, Lyford and Pusey, an arrangement set up in 2003.