Nearby is the hamlet of Seatown which lies close to the sea and the dramatic cliffs that are a main feature of this coast. St Giles church is on the main road and part of the burial ground is divided and the northern part is the Catholic Cemetery with a cruciform mortuary chapel that was built by the Weld family. Restoration was done on the church in 1880. Inside the church there is an effigy of John de Chideoke who built the castle in 1380, and in the churchyard there was supposed to have been a firing position used in the storming of the castle

The present Roman Catholic church, Our Lady of the Martyrs and St Ignatious was built in Romanesque wtill but the Weld family who had succeeded generations of the Arundells who were Catholic added some tiling and Sir Joseph Weld was the Lord Lieutenant of Dorset and also a leader of the Roman Catholic community.

Chideock Castle which is the seat of the de Chideocks and the Arundells is in the parish but not much of it is left except for some mounds of earth and trenches. It was finally destroyed by Cromwells troops in 1645 after changing hands on numerous occasions during the civil war. The Chideock House Hotel was originally Chideock House and it is here in the main hall that the Chideock Martyrs were tried.

The Martyrs were five Catholic priests who would not conform to the new Established Church and were arrested and then butchered and a Martyr's Cross has been erected in their memory.

The name has had various spellings over the centuries and before the Normans came it belong to King Alfred but within two years of the Normans landing it was seized. The manor was then granted to the Norman Barons but Edward II transferred the lands to the first Jon de Chidiock from Bridport.

It then passed through marriage in 1449 to the Arundell family until Thomas Weld bought it in 1802 and his grandson married a descendant of the last Sir John de Chidick. Until a few years back the Welds still live in the present Manor House so in a period of over 650 years only three families have owned it.

Symondsbury was reputed to have produced more flax than any other parish i the whole country for which to make nets and cables for the countrys fleet.

Smuggling was a well known booster of income especially for the fishermen in the 19th century that operated from Seatown, one gang of smugglers was known as the Chideock Gang and the operated mainly between Seatown and Charmouth and were led by a local gentleman who was called 'The Colonel' and at the top of the High Golden Cap which is 617 feet above tghe sea a lookout post was situated.

Today the village is a conservation area and the coastal areas of the parish have been nominated for World Heritage Status.