The first datable attestation of the name Chattenden is in 1281, as Chattindone, alongside other early spellings such as Chetindunam, Chatendune, and Chetyndone.

Scholars agree that the final syllable comes from the Old English word dūn ("hill"), but the origin of the rest of the name is debated.

Additionally, the Royal Navy installed a British Military Narrow-Gauge Railway, anti-aircraft gun batteries, and a shell store.

Most of the designated sites, which became known as Chattenden and Lodge Hill Military Camps, were put up for sale in 2016 by Homes England, which is part of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

From August 1940 to September 1940, the War Office built a Royal Navy Wireless Station adjacent to Beacon Hill Lane and a concrete Blockhouse or Pillbox was built on an artificially constructed mound at the top end of Beacon Hill Lane, which also functioned as an observation platform near to the River Medway.