His first work consisted of fragments from the minor Greek poets, with notes (Elegiaca Graeca, 1759); and in 1763 he published a fine edition of the inscriptions among the Arundel marbles, Marmora Oxoniensia, with a Latin translation, and a number of suggestions for supplying the lacunae.
The Society's brief, drawn up 17 May 1764 was that the travelers make Smyrna their headquarters, and from there "..to make excursions to the several remains of antiquity in that neighborhood; to make exact plans and measurements, to make accurate drawings of the bas-reliefs and ornaments..copying all the inscriptions you shall meet with, and keeping minute diaries."
The result of their labours were the Ionian Antiquities in two magnificent folios published by the Dilettanti in 1769, and, later, Chandler's record of the tour, Travels in Greece, or an Account of a Tour Made at the Expense of the Society Of Dillettanti (1776).
Other works by Chandler were Inscriptiones Antiquae pleraeque nondum editae (Oxford, 1774); Travels in Asia Minor (1775); Travels in Greece (1776); History of Ilium (1803), in which he asserted the accuracy of Homer's geography. His Life of Bishop Waynflete, Lord High Chancellor to Henry VI, appeared in 1811.
He subsequently held several church preferments, including the rectory of Tylehurst, in Berkshire, where he died in 1810.
A complete edition (with notes by Nicholas Revett) of the Travels in Asia Minor and Greece was published by Ralph Churton (Oxford, 1825), with an Account of the Author.
