Template:Wp-Chalfont St Giles-History

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In the Domesday Book in 1086, Chalfont St Giles and Chalfont St Peter were listed as separate Manors with different owners, called 'Celfunte'. They were separate holdings before the Norman Conquest.

The Church of England parish church of Saint Giles is of Norman architecture and dates from the 12th century. The church features a lychgate and wall paintings from the early 14th century. During the English Civil War, some iron cannonballs were embedded in the stonework around the east window; they were believed to have been fired by Oliver Cromwell's troops when camped in the neighbouring field after the Battle of Aylesbury. Three of these balls are now on display in John Milton's Cottage in the village. Bishop Francis Hare is buried in his family mausoleum in the churchyard.

During the Great Plague of London in 1665, John Milton retired to Chalfont St Giles where he completed his epic poem Paradise Lost. Milton's Cottage still stands in the village, and is open to the public. The inspiration for Paradise Regained is said to have been found in this parish from a conversation with a former pupil, Thomas Ellwood. In 1887, after an attempt was made to relocate the house to America and rebuild it there, a movement was begun locally to purchase the house by local public subscription. Queen Victoria headed the list with a gift of £20, a considerable amount at the time – approximately £2,360 as of 2016.

Like most other rural parishes, it managed its civil affairs through the vestry until the Local Government Act 1894 required all parishes of over 300 people to have a Parish council independent of the Church. The village was the birthplace of cricketer J. T. Hearne, one of the greatest bowlers of the 1890s and 1900s, who died there in 1944, and of the actress Alexandra Gilbreath.

Notable residents of the village have included Ozzy Osbourne, Harry Golombek, Brian Connolly, Brian Cant, Chicane, Armando Iannucci, Noel Gallagher, and Nick Clegg who became the Liberal Democrats party leader in 2007 and Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015.

The village has given its name to Chalfont, Pennsylvania, which is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

The Chiltern Open Air Museum, located immediately outside the Parish boundary, rescues and re-erects historic buildings which face demolition, from medieval to modern. Its collection includes a cottage from around 1600, and a variety of 19th century buildings, within 45 acres of parkland.