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Chilwell is a residential suburb of Greater Nottingham, located in the Borough of Broxtowe of Nottinghamshire, west of Nottingham itself. Until 1974 it was part of Beeston and Stapleford Urban District, having been in Stapleford Rural District from 1894 until 1935. At the 2011 UK census Chilwell had a total population of 12,864.
Chilwell was originally a hamlet on the road from Nottingham to Ashby-de-la-Zouch. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, along with Toton and Attenborough. Attenborough became the ecclesiastical parish which included Toton and Chilwell. in the 19th century suburban development spread gradually from Beeston along Chilwell High Road. Toton and Chilwell both became separate civil parishes during the 19th century, but lost this status when they became part of Beeston and Stapleford Urban District.
The area's population grew substantially during World War I when most of the area of level ground between Chilwell and Toton was occupied by the National Shell Filling Factory No. 6 and the original direct route between Chilwell and Toton became a gated military road, now known as Chetwynd Road.
On 1 July 1918, 134 people were killed in an explosion at the factory, with over 250 people injured in the explosion. This tragedy remains the largest number of deaths caused by a single explosion in Britain. The memorial to the dead can be found in nearby church yard of St Mary's, Attenborough.
The army continued to dominate the area with the factory becoming a major depot site for the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, and more recently for the Royal Engineers. The Chilwell Bypass Road was constructed in the 1930s to take army traffic out of the village centre.
Chilwell has had a long-standing non-conformist population. The Chilwell Methodist Church was founded in 1798 as the Methodist First Connection Chapel at Hallams Lane. Its Sunday School (provided jointly with local Baptists) provided the first free education for the poor of the area. The chapel moved to land provided by Squire Charlton in 1857. Christ Church, Chilwell was built in 1903 to provide an Anglican church to serve the growing population, although it did not become a separate ecclesiastical parish from Attenborough until 1975.
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