The parish of Chilcote forms two Leicestershire county boundaries, with Derbyshire and Staffordshire. Up until the late 19th century Chilcote was officially part of Derbyshire, and is mentioned in the Derbyshire folio of the Domesday Book.
Nestling in the centre of the tiny village of Chilcote is the church of St. Matthew, a Grade II listed building. The church is a "chapel of ease", so named because of the ease of access to a church for the villagers. It is the daughter church of St. Andrew's Church, Clifton Campville and is of medieval origin.
In 1842 the original building was demolished and a new building erected on the same foundations with brick wails and a small bell tower. Several of the old roof beams were reused and it is possible to see the letter M, a chained dragon and a wolf on the bosses of these timbers.
The church which stands in the village today dates from 1885 when, under the instructions of Mrs Robertson of Netherseal Hall, the walls were encased in white sandstone coursed ashlar. These alterations were made in memory of her late husband and her only son. Three stained glass windows were also erected at this time, two in memory of the Robertson family.
The church consists of a nave, chancel and timber framed porch. The floor, following the building work of 1842, was composed of black and red tiles in a diamond pattern which are still present in the chancel area. The nave flooring has, at some time, been replaced by wooden block flooring. The font is plain and probably dates from the 14th century.
The original oak pews and benches have been replaced with oak chairs although, at the rear of the church, two of the original pews can still be seen and are used at times of major festivals in the churches' year.