The flint scrapers discovered on the site on the western shore of the peninsula, seem to suggest that spear shafts or kiddles (fish traps) and primitive salterns were being made here.

[3] The village's name, first recorded as Chedeham in 1193, is derived from the Old English words cēod(e), meaning "bay", and hām, "homestead", or hamm, "peninsula".

The peninsula is not mentioned in the Domesday Book because it was part of the Manor or Chapelry of Bosham, rich in farming land and then belonging to the Bishop of Exeter.

Facing the church, on its south side, is a large early 19th century vicarage known as the 'Old Rectory', now a private house.

On the night of 8 October 1940 the vicarage, now the Old Rectory, was damaged by an incendiary and a torpedo bomber, carrying a crew of four, crashed close to the church.

There is a network of public footpaths for walkers, giving access to the shore and intertidal mudflats of Chichester harbour.

The Chidham peninsula extends southwards into Chichester Harbour and lies within an Area of Outstanding Beauty (AONB).

Facilities include a post office/shop, three inns, two riding stables, three caravan sites and three residential nursing homes.

Further employment is provided by arable farming, market gardening, nurseries and orchards and also a national concrete product manufacturer and several small rural businesses.

The youth of West Sussex and elsewhere are catered for by two activity centres, each having a strong sailing bias, located adjacent to the Bosham Channel where there is also a dinghy park and slipway.

The civil Parish of Chidham was increased in area in April 2003, when the west side of Broad Road north of the railway line, Priors Leaze Lane, Hambrook Hill South and Shepherd's Meadow were included.

The Shepherd's Meadow development in 1999 is of note in that 36 houses were constructed on a single site, allocated in the Local Plan, between Hambrook Hill South and Broad Road.

St Mary's Church has a thriving congregation and Chidham Parochial Primary School, with 91 pupils, has an active Parents, Teachers and Friends' Association.