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 of 1086 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 Park, 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. ==Sport and recreation==