Fradswell was first mentioned as part of Colwich parish, in the Domesday Book, where it listed Frodawelle or Frodeswelle. It is likely to have been an Anglian settlement established during the Dark Ages.

The village received a church of its own in the 13th century, when the chapel of St James the Less was established. The chancel survives, but the main part of the church was rebuilt in 1764.