Horsford

History

Horsford's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for horse ford.

In the Domesday Book, Horsford is listed as a settlement of 33 households hundred of Taverham. In 1086, the village was part of the East Anglian estates of Robert Malet.

Horsford Castle was a motte-and-bailey castle built by Robert Malet immediately after the Norman Conquest. Horsford Castle has been abandoned since the Fifteenth Century and is, today, a scheduled monument.

Holt Road, north of the village, is supposedly haunted by a highwayman.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Horsford has a population of 4,937 people which shows an increase from the 4,163 people recorded in the 2011 census.

Horsford Woods is a 306 acre site of woodland which is cared for by the Woodland Trust. The woods are the habitat of the silver-studded blue butterfly.

All Saints' Church

Horsford's parish church dates from the Fifteenth Century. All Saints' is located on Church Street and has been Grade II listed since 1961. The church holds Sunday service once a month.

All Saints' was restored in the Victorian era but still features a Thirteenth Century font and stained-glass windows installed by the Zetter workshop of Munich.

Amenities & Leisure

Horsford Cricket Club plays home games at Manor Park which was also the home ground of Norfolk County Cricket from 2001 to 2024. Horsford CC operate multiple teams of men, women and juniors with the First Men's XI competing in the East Anglian Premier League.

Horsford Football Club play home games at Holt Road and operate teams for men, women and juniors with the Men's First Team playing in Division 2 of the Anglian Combination League.

Horsford Church of England Primary School is located on Holt Road and is part of the Nebula Federation. The headmistress is Ms. A. Best-White.

Notable residents

• William de Chesney- (d.1174) Anglo-Norman nobleman and sheriff, Lord of Horsford Manor.
• Thomas Blenerhasset- (1550-1624) poet and writer, born in Horsford.
• Octavius Mathias- (1805-1864) Anglican missionary to New Zealand, Vicar of Horsford.
• Sir Richard Barrett-Lennard OBE- (1898-1977) banker, lived in Horsford.
• Charles Jewson- (1909-1981) businessman, antiquarian and Lord Mayor of Norwich, lived & died in Horsford.
• Barry Bridges- (b.1941) England, Chelsea and Birmingham City footballer, born in Horsford and manager of Horsford United F.C.
• Mike Sutton- (1944-2020) Chester and Carlisle United footballer, lived in Horsford.
• Chris Sutton- (b.1973) Blackburn Rovers and Celtic footballer and manager, lived in Horsford.

Public Pits

These small areas of woodland were formerly public pits awarded to the parishioners of Horsford under the Horsford Inclosure Act 1800 (39 & 40 Geo. 3. c. 65 Pr.).

In 1913 the Horsford Publics Pits Charity was formed to administer these pits in the parish. Initially income was from shooting and grazing rights, but in the late 20th century they were let to civil contractors who filled them with spoil from construction sites and the Trustees then planted them with trees.

Since 1997 the pits have been leased by the Horsford Parish Council who have undertaken to manage and maintain them as havens for wildlife and as amenity areas for the parishioners of Horsford.

Neighbourhood Plan

In 2015 the Parish Council decided to consider the development of a neighbourhood plan and a steering group was formed made up of some councillors and some interested residents. Over the next two years a wide-ranging consultation took place and the plan was published in draft form. The plan was scrutinised by Broadland DC and an independent examiner before being put to the residents in a referendum which approved it.

Governance

Horsford is part of the electoral ward of Horsford & Felthorpe for local elections and is part of the district of Broadland.

The village's national constituency is Broadland and Fakenham which has been represented by the Conservative Party's Jerome Mayhew MP since 2019.

War Memorial

Horsford War Memorial is a granite pillar inside All Saints' Churchyard which lists the following names for the First World War:

The following names were added after the Second World War:

References

References

1. "Key to English Place-names".
2. "Horsford {{!}} Domesday Book".
3. "Horsford Castle, Horsford - 1003998 {{!}} Historic England".
4. "The Paranormal Database - Norfolk".
5. "Horsford (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location".
6. Trust, Woodland. "Horsford Woods".
7. Norfolk Biodiversity. "Action Plan Silved-Studded Blue".
8. "PARISH CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS, Horsford - 1170781 {{!}} Historic England".
9. "Horsford: All Saints".
10. "Norfolk Churches".
11. "Horsford Cricket Club".
12. Brown, Chris. "Horsford F.C. - Home".
13. "Fostering a lifelong love of learning".
14. "Horsford War Memorial, Horsford - 1450480 {{!}} Historic England".
15. "Geograph:: Hackford to Hunworth :: War Memorials in Norfolk".