Wilmington is believed to have been the site of a major Celtic settlement and a place where the Cantii tribe fought Roman invaders near Leyton Cross and Joyden's Wood.

In the reign of Edward IV, a manor house in the village was a residence of the king-making Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick.

[citation needed] An earlier resident was Sir James Whitehead, whose family grave is in the village churchyard.

[citation needed] He was Lord Mayor of London c.1888-9 and he lived for a number of years in the Manor, which was an early part of the girls' school.

The Academy was built in the mid-1970s on the site of Wilmington Hall Manor[citation needed] and is a specialist centre of excellence for both business and vocational courses.