Horndon on the Hill is a village, former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

and

Church of England parish The parish with its parish church(es) is the basic territorial unit of the Church of England. The parish has its roots in the Roman Catholic Church and survived the English Reformation largely untouched. Each is within one of 42 dioceses: divide ...

in the unitary authority of

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The ...

, in the county of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, England. It is located close to the A13, around one mile northwest of Stanford-le-Hope and around two miles northeast of

Orsett Orsett is a village, former civil parish and ecclesiastical parish located within Thurrock unitary district in Essex, England, situated around 5 km north-east of Grays. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1771. History It has historic ...

. The village area falls within the Orsett ward of Thurrock District Council. In 2019 it had an estimated population of 1517. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1052. Horndon on the Hill has one church, the Church of St Peter and St Paul, which dates from the 13th century and is Grade I listed. It also has a primary school, a recreational park and two

public houses A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, The Swan and The Bell.

History

Horndon-on-the-Hill appears in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

of 1086 as ''Hornindune'', meaning "horn-shaped hill". It may have been the site of the 11th-century Horndon mint, based on the survival of a single Anglo-Saxon penny from the village. In the late 15th century, the lord of the manors of Arden Hall and Horndon House was Sir

Edmund Shaa Sir Edmund Shaa or Shaw (died 20 April 1488) was a London goldsmith, Sheriff of London in 1475 and Lord Mayor of London in 1482. Shaa lent money to Edward IV and, as mayor (at least), was extensively involved in the coronation of Edward IV's br ...

. Shaa was a supporter of Richard III and was knighted by him. These manors remained in the Shaa family for several generations before passing to the Pooley family. A woolmarket was established in the village in the early 16th century; the building later became a shelter for the poor people of the area. On the south wall of the church is a memorial to Thomas Higbed, who was burned at the stake in Horndon in 1555 and is included in

Foxe's Book of Martyrs The ''Actes and Monuments'' (full title: ''Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Days, Touching Matters of the Church''), popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, is a work of Protestant history and martyrology by Protestant Engli ...

. Horndon on the Hill is one of the seven conservation areas of Thurrock and was the first of the seven to be designated, in September 1969. Since the 13th century, Horndon on the Hill has hosted the annual "Feast and Fayre" on the last weekend in June. Prominent residents have included Sir

John Tusa Sir John Tusa (born 2 March 1936) is a British arts administrator, and radio and television journalist. He is co-chairman of the European Union Youth Orchestra from 2014. chairman, British Architecture Trust Board, RIBA, from 2014. From 1980 to ...

, journalist and broadcaster and former President of Wolfson College, Cambridge. Philip Conrad Vincent, founder & Designer o
Vincent Motorcycles
Great Britain, lived in Horndon on the-Hill, and his final resting place is in the Parish cemetery o
St Peter and St Paul
in the centre of the village.

Governance

Horndon on the Hill belonged to the Barstable hundred of Essex, before becoming part of

Orsett Rural District Orsett Rural District was the local government district centred on Orsett in south Essex, England from 1894 to 1936; a little of its far west is in modern Greater London. Likewise in modern terms the area is mostly east of the M25 motorway and no ...

in 1894 and then part of

Thurrock Urban District Thurrock was a local government district and civil parish in south Essex, England from 1936 to 1974. The parish and urban district was formed from the former area of the following civil parishes which had been abolished in 1936: *From Grays Thu ...

on 1 April 1936 when the parish was abolished to form Thurrock. In 1974, the urban district became the Borough of Thurrock under the Local Government Act 1972. The borough was given administrative independence from Essex County Council in 1998.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Essex Former civil parishes in Essex Thurrock