[2] The village is first recorded as Elyngtone in 942 in the will of Bishop Theodred granting lands to a community dedicated to St Æthelberht in Hoxne.

[6] The church of St Peter is medieval in origin and was majorly restored both internally and externally in 1873–1874.

The early 14th-century nave and chancel are made of flint rubble with stone dressings, with the 15th-century tower being constructed of knapped flint with an admixture of red brick.

[7][8] Three bells hang in the tower all cast in 1450 by John Magges of Norwich and are currently unringable, the largest weigh approximately 4.5 cwt and has a diameter of 28 inches.

In 1870–72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described the village as:[13]ATHELINGTON, or Allington, a parish in Hoxne district, Suffolk; 5 miles SE by E of Eye, and 8 NW of Framlingham r. station.

In 1887, John Bartholomew also wrote an entry on Athelington in the Gazetteer of the British Isles with a much shorter description:[14]Athelington, parish, East Suffolk, 5 miles SE.