The church, largely of flint, stands on a substantial mound, and consists of an aisleless nave with S porch; a 12thc. chancel of clunch rubble lengthened in the 16thc.; and a short two-storey W tower with a pyramid roof. There is a 12thc. window in the N wall of the chancel.

In the Domesday Survey, Great and Little Chishill are taken together and recorded under Essex. A manor was held by Guy under Count Eustace of Boulogne in 1086, another by Roger d'Auberville, and a third by William Cardon under Geoffrey de Mandeville.