Horsford is a village six miles north of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

which is surrounded by the Horsford Forest and is named after the dried up section of the River Hor. Its population has seen a steady increase since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, growing from 750 in 1945 to 4,163 at the 2011 Census. There are various explanations of the village name. It is usually said to derive from 'horse ford', but it has also been suggested that it comes from the

River Hor The River Hor is a short river in the county of Norfolk, England. It runs east from its source near Felthorpe to its confluence with the River Bure near Wroxham.Ordnance Survey of Great Britain History The name of the river is probably a ba ...

on which the village stands (more usually known to locals as 'the Beck'). A third explanation is that it comes from

Horsa Hengist and Horsa are Germanic brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in their invasion of Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist as the first of the Jutish kings of Kent. Most modern scholarly consensus now rega ...

, the name of a Saxon chief. The surrounding Horsford Forest has been designated a County Wildlife Site. The rare silver-studded blue butterfly has a colony in this forest. The motte of the demolished

Horsford Castle Horsford Castle is situated in the village of Horsford, 6 miles to the north of the city of Norwich. Details Before the Norman conquest of England, Horsford was held by an Anglo-Saxon named Edric but after the conquest William the Conqueror gra ...

lies to the east of the village.

Sport

The village has produced three footballers of note:

Barry Bridges Barry John Bridges (born 29 April 1941) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward in the Football League for Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Birmingham City F.C., Birmingha ...

, who returned to Horsford to manage the village team Horsford United,Horsford United F.C.
Retrieved 2 March 2010

Chris Sutton Christopher Roy Sutton (born 10 March 1973) is an English former professional football player and manager. He later became a pundit and commentator for BT Sport, regularly working on their coverage of Scottish football. He is now also a pundi ...

and Jack Gulley who played at DESA before travelling to America to turn professional. The village has two football clubs Horsford F.C. and Horsford United F.C. The Manor Park cricket ground is home to the village team and the

Norfolk County Cricket Club Norfolk County Cricket Club is one of twenty minor county cricket clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Norfolk. The team is currently a member of the Minor Counties Champio ...

Public Pits

These small areas of woodland were formerly public pits awarded to the parishioners of Horsford under the Enclosures Act of 1802. 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 wild life and as amenity areas for the parishioners of Horsford.

Neighbourhood Plan

Neighbourhood legislation gave communities the power to develop a shared vision for their neighbourhood and shape the growth and development of their local area. Once adopted, a Neighbourhood Plan is a legal document which the planning authority has to consider when determining a planning application although on occasions other factors may be taken into account which conflict with the 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. Grants were applied for and a professional project manager was employed to give guidance and direction. 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 by a very large majority

References

External links

Horsford cricket clubHorsford Youth Under 16's FCJust HorsfordHorsford Players
{{authority control Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk Broadland