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Sir John de Wingfield (died c. 1361) of Wingfield Castle in Wingfield, Suffolk was born to John and Elizabeth de Wingfield. Sir John was educated as an attorney, later becoming chief administrator to Edward the Black Prince (1330-1376). He was also Attorney general and Chief of staff of Joan of Bar, Countess of Surrey, granddaughter of Edward I of England. This post was taken over by Sir John's brother, Sir Thomas, in 1357.
The family took their name after Wingfield in Suffolk and both the village and family are historically intertwined. Sir John Wingfield was married to Alianore de Glanville and their one surviving child, a daughter and sole heir, was Catherine who married Michael de la Pole, later 1st Earl of Suffolk. With Catherine losing the Wingfield surname, her married name, de la Pole, became synonymous with Wingfield Castle. It was Sir John's younger brothers who, despite not inheriting Wingfield Castle or the land that went with it, kept the Wingfield lines going down the generations. Unusually, the dukedom of Suffolk was given to 2 family lines. The de la Poles obtained the dukedom firstly with William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk but it ended when Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk had to forfeit the tile, later to be executed. The dukedom was then recreated for Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk who was descended from Sir John’s brother, Sir Thomas Wingfield. Its third creation was for Charles Brandon's son-in-law Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk. Other descendants of Sir John’s brothers include Thomas Wolsey, Sir Richard Wingfield, and Charles Brandon’s granddaughter Lady Jane Grey.
Sir John and both his brothers fought at Crécy in 1346. Sir John fought in the Normandy campaign from 1347-48 and was appointed 'governor of the prince's business' (in effect business-manager) to Edward the Black Prince round about 1351. In 1356 Wingfield and his brothers fought at Poitiers capturing the head of the French King John II's bodyguard, Sire D'Aubigny. Edward III of England purchased this captive from Wingfield for £833.
Wingfield died in about 1361, possibly of the second outbreak of the Black Death. His will provided for the founding of Wingfield College in 1362. The college was endowed by the Black Prince.