Chadwell is a small village in the Melton district of NE Leicestershire, 4 miles NE of Melton Mowbray and 17 miles SE of Nottingham. The church is on the northern edge of the village, and consists of W tower, nave with S aisle and S porch and a chancel. A 12thc aisle has been taken down, and the blocked arcade is visible inside and out. There is also a plain round headed tower arch. Otherwise the church is substantially 13thc. The church is of coursed squared ironstone with ashlar dressings and was restored by R. W. Johnson in 1865-66. the The blocked N arcade and later plain round tower arch are of the Romanesque period, as is the font.

Chadwell and Wycomb were held by the king in 1086. They were assessed at 4 carucates and had 2 mills. King Richard I gave Chadwell to the Knights Templar in the last decade of the 12thc., and it is probably to them that we owe the substantial Early English portions of the church - although the N arcade and font point to an earlier building.

Pevsner refers to 'a little fine zigzag decoration on the blocked N arcade, but nothing that could be described as fine decoration was on show here: the work was very crude and rustic - not surprisingly, considering its isolated rural position. Neither Pevsner nor the list description hazards a guess at the date beyond 12thc. Stylistically it is early, but as the font also demonstrates, crudenness of execution does not necessarily mean an early date. The font itself has no marked similarities with other fonts in the county.