Warlingham is not mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086, but it is probably the unnamed manor in the Tandridge Hundred held by Robert de Watevile from Richard, son of Count Gilbert. Azor held this manor during the reign of King Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) and the manor had a church by 1086. The present parish church of All Saints has a 13th century nave and chancel, but the church underwent two 'restorations' during the Victorian period, which have considerable changed its visual character.

Warlingham belonged to William de Watevile in 1144, when he gave it to the monastery at Bermondsey. The Bermondsey Priory surrendered its estates to the Crown in 1538 when it was dissolved and, in 1544, Henry VIII granted Warlingham to Sir John Gresham. Sir John's grandson, Richard, sold it to John Ownstead in 1591.

By 1653 Warlingham had become the property of Harmon Arwood, John Ownstead's cousin. The manor passed through marriage to the Wigsell family and then to the Wigsell Arkwrights, who retained ownership until the 20th century.

A station opened near Warlingham on the Caterham Valley line in 1856 but the name was changed to Whyteleafe South a hundred years later. Warlingham was a small Downland village but the arrival of the commuter brought inevitable change. However, it still retains several houses in the area dating from the 17th century and is a pleasant location within easy reach of London.