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Bulkington was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Bochintone, meaning "estate associated with a man called Bulca". The parish originally contained seven hamlets, two of which were subsumed by Bulkington village following residential building expansion which began in the 1930s. Historically the main industry in Bulkington was ribbon weaving. Today Bulkington is largely a commuter village for larger nearby urban centres such as Coventry, Nuneaton, Bedworth, Hinckley and Leicester. Bulkington has connections with the locally born author George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), who knew the village well. She referred to it as Raveloe in her book Silas Marner (1861). The church of St James is where George Eliot's uncle and aunt are buried.

The early history of Bulkington can be traced in Domesday Book where it is mentioned as among the estates of the Count of Meulan, overseen by his sub-tenant Salo. Originally the parish of Bulkington consisted of two five-hide vills - in the south Bulkington and Barnacle, and in the north Marston, Weston and Bramcote. The first four of these were all held by the Count of Meulan.

Bulkington was the largest of these sub-divisions (at 4 hides and 1 virgate) and functioned as the centre of the manor; however, by the late 13th century the centre of the manor had moved to Weston-in-Arden. By 1285 the manor of Weston contained Bulkington, Bramcote, Barnacle, Ryton, Clifton, and Wibtoft.

The manor house Weston Hall, which dates to the 16th century, still stands in Weston-in Arden. It was substantially renovated in c.1892, and after serving for a time as a night club in the 1970s and 1980s, now functions as a hotel.