Horsford is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.

Horsford is located south of Aylsham and north-west of Norwich.

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. There is a windmill in the village, which has been converted to residential use, with some machinery conserved.

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 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.

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 ).

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: +RankNameUnitDate of deathBurial/Commemoration2Lt.Charles Sizeland7th Bn., Norfolk Regiment12 Oct. 1916Thiepval MemorialSt1CReginald J. HarveyHMS Natal (Cruiser)30 Dec. 1915Chatham Naval MemorialCpl.William E. Barney8th Bn., Norfolk Regiment19 Mar. 1917St. Sever CemeteryLCpl.Walter B. Ribbands2nd Bn., Middlesex Regiment20 Aug. 1918Ligny-Saint-Flochel CemeteryLCpl.Leonard L. Smith8th Bn., Norfolk Regiment22 Oct. 1917Poelcapelle British CemeteryDvr.Robert J. AldridgeRoyal Field Artillery16 Mar. 1919All Saints' ChurchyardGnr.William ThomasRoyal Horse Artillery4 May 1919All Saints' ChurchyardPnr.Albert Moore208th Coy., Royal Engineers1 Jul. 1916Thiepval MemorialPte.Edwin Bunn58th Bn., AIF19 Jul. 1916Rue-du-Bois Military CemeteryPte.Benjamin C. Punt2nd Bn., Bedfordshire Regiment25 Dec. 1917Lijssenthoek Military CemeteryPte.Harry J. Bacon10th Bn., CEF28 Apr. 1917Vimy MemorialPte.William G. Blythe1st Bn., Coldstream Guards14 Sep. 1914La Ferté MemorialPte.Robert A. Blythe6th Bn., Royal Dublin Fusiliers8 Oct. 1918Guizancourt Farm CemeteryPte.Thomas C. Fiddy1st Bn., Essex Regiment6 Aug. 1915Twelve Tree Copse CemeteryPte.Benjamin J. Rayner10th Bn., Royal Fusiliers23 Jul. 1916Thiepval MemorialPte.Frederick Smith2nd Bn., Norfolk Regiment14 Apr. 1915Basra War CemeteryPte.Henry Smith2nd Bn., Norfolk Regt.31 Dec. 1916Basra War CemeteryPte.Walter S. Kirk7th Bn., Norfolk Regt.8 Aug. 1918Morlancourt British CemeteryPte.Edgar H. Larwood7th Bn., Norfolk Regt.1 Nov. 1918Norwich CemeteryPte.Frank H. Punt11th Bn., Northumberland Fusilers24 Sep. 1916Thiepval MemorialPte.Arthur J. BroomQueen's Own Regiment2 Dec. 1918All Saints' ChurchyardPte.Ernest Smith7th Bn., Queen's Own Regt.2 May 1918St. Sever CemeteryPte.Percy Booty2nd Bn., Sherwood Foresters23 Mar. 1918Arras MemorialPte.Everitt L. Bacon5th Bn., Sherwood Foresters29 Mar. 1918Aix-Noulette CemeteryPte.Robert J. Bacon7th Bn., Sherwood Foresters27 Jun. 1917Loos CemeteryPte.Thomas W. Dyer4th Bn., Suffolk Regiment20 Jul. 1916Thiepval Memorial The following names were added after the Second World War: +RankNameUnitDate of deathBurial/CommemorationCapt.Frederick E. HollisRoyal Artillery3 Mar. 1945Groesbeek War CemeterySgt.David C. B. BarrettRoyal Army Medical Corps3 Mar. 1948All Saints' ChurchyardASErnest A. LawsHMS Swift (Destroyer)25 Jun. 1944Portsmouth Naval MemorialPte.Arthur H. BroomRoyal Norfolk Regiment11 May 1947All Saints' ChurchyardPte.Cecil R. Broom6th Bn., Royal Norfolks25 Jan. 1942Kranji War MemorialPte.Stanley T. Fox5th Bn., Sherwood Foresters25 Dec. 1944Olšany CemeteryPte.Gwilym Jarman4th Bn., Welch Regiment14 Jan. 1946Südfriedhof

References

External links

Horsford cricket club Horsford Youth Under 16's FC Just Horsford Horsford Players