There is evidence of human occupation in Winkfield in prehistoric times. From the Late Iron Age, this evidence becomes more substantial, although there is as yet no hard evidence of settlement until the early Medieval era. Winkfield was recorded in the Domesday book as Wenesfelle and was recorded to have 20 households and 20 ploughlands, suggesting the area was a rich agricultural settlement. William the Conqueror, in establishing his home at Windsor Castle, also incorporated Winkfield into Windsor Great Forest, where it would remain until the 20th Century.

At the west end of the village stands the Church of England church of St Mary's.

The principal lodge at Winkfield was Foliejon Park. There is some evidence that a great tower once stood in the grounds which would have been visible for many miles around Winkfield. Between March 1942 and the end of World War II in June 1945 Foliejon Park was the residence of Haakon VII of Norway and his son, Crown Prince Olav.

A 15th-century former inn, the Prince of Wales on Winkfield Street, is now a private residence. Winkfield's New Lodge was the home of Princess Sophia of Gloucester, a niece of King George III.

In the early 1960s, the United Kingdom aided a Canadian satellite mission Alouette 1 by providing the use of a ground station at Winkfield.[2]

Part of Winkfield was incorporated into Bracknell New Town when it was decided to expand the town to fit a population of 60,000. Today the Bracknell neighbourhoods of Martins Heron, The Warren and Forest Park still exist in Winkfield Parish. In 1991, Winkfield became one of the seven districts of the Bracknell Forest Council unitary authority.