Chedworth is one of the more populous Cotswold parishes and lies 6.5 miles NNE of Cirencester. Much of the parish is on the high Cotswolds, but a broad valley, formed by a tributary of the river Coln, is its central feature. The village was established at the head of this valley, where the manor house and church stand on the hillside by a spring. The church, which is built of rubble and ashlar, comprises a chancel with N vestry, nave with N aisle and S porch and a W tower. The lower stage of the tower with its tower arch and a N aisle arcade were built in the late 12thc. There is also a Norman tub font. There is a measured plan of the church in Knowles (1928).

Between 779 and 790 Aldred, under-king of the Hwicce, granted land at Chedworth to Gloucester Abbey. By 1066 the manor was in secular hands when it was held by Wulfweard. After the Conquest it was granted to William FitzOsbern, Earl of Hereford, whose foundation of Lire Abbey in Normandy became owner of the church. Ownership of the manor subsequently passed through a number of families, whilst the Crown dispossessed Lire Abbey of the church during the French wars of the 14thc.