The village name suggests a fairly early Saxon foundation, preceding the occupation of eastern England by the Danes and it is naturally mentioned in the Domesday Book.

It is thought that the Great North Road crossed the Trent here before Newark was founded; prior to the river's change of channel westwards it ran close to the village and was the cause of much flooding.

The parishes extended from the river floodplain onto the uncultivated moorland on the higher ground between Trent and Witham, allowing for good grazing and meadowland throughout the year.

In medieval and early modern times Collingham operated an openfield system and enclosure did not take place until the turn of the 18th/19th centuries, changing much local farming from a small holding of strips and the right to extensive grazing, to individual small cottage holdings or a precarious existence as a landless agricultural labourer.

During the siege of Newark in the English Civil War, the countryside was subject to deprivation from the opposing armies wanting food and fresh horses and the village suffered.

In 1664, a mercer of Collingham, one Thomas Ridge, issued his own copper halfpenny tokens, in response to currency shortage after the civil war.

The proposed bypass is not seen as a priority and in addition would damage the countryside and natural environment along the east side of the village.

Two brothers from the village, John and William Bacon, took part in the Charge of the Light Brigade (under the assumed name of Baker).