Horningtoft

{{Infobox UK place

| country = England

| coordinates = {{coord|52.771|0.868|display=inline,title}}

| os_grid_reference = TF935231

| official_name = Horningtoft

| population = 157

| population_ref = (2021 census)

| shire_district = Breckland

| shire_county = Norfolk

| region = East of England

| civil_parish = Horningtoft

| constituency_westminster = Mid Norfolk

| postcode_district = NR20

| postcode_area = NR

| post_town = DEREHAM

| dial_code = 01328

| london_distance =

| website = http://horningtoft.org.uk/parishcouncil.html

| static_image_name = File:Village sign - geograph.org.uk - 1411737.jpg

| static_image_width = 240px

| static_image_caption = Horningtoft Village Sign

| area_total_sq_mi = 2.21

| hide_services = Yes

}}

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

Horningtoft is located {{Convert|8|mi|km}} north of Dereham and {{Convert|21|mi|km}} north-west of Norwich.

History

Horningtoft's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the curtilage of the people of the horn.{{Cite web |title=Key to English Place-names |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Horningtoft |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=kepn.nottingham.ac.uk}}

In the Domesday Book, Horningtoft is listed as a settlement of 16 households in the hundred of Laundich. In 1086, the village was part of the East Anglian estates of King William I.{{Cite web |title=Horningtoft {{!}} Domesday Book |url=https://opendomesday.org/place/TF9323/horningtoft/ |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=opendomesday.org}}

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Horningtoft has a population of 157 people which shows an increase from the 127 people recorded in the 2011 census.{{Cite web |title=Horningtoft (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastofengland/admin/breckland/E04006131__horningtoft/ |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=www.citypopulation.de}}

St. Edmund's Church

Horningtoft's parish church is dedicated to Saint Edmund the Martyr and dates from the Thirteenth Century. St. Edmund's is located on Church Road and has been Grade II listed since 1984.{{Cite web |title=CHURCH OF ST EDMUND, Horningtoft - 1304480 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1304480 |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}} The church no longer holds Sunday service but is part of the Upper Wensum Benefice.{{Cite web |title=Horningtoft Church |url=https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/10262/ |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=www.achurchnearyou.com |language=en}}

St. Edmund's Churchtower collapsed in the late Eighteenth Century.{{Cite web |title=Norfolk Churches |url=http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/horningtoft/horningtoft.htm |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=www.norfolkchurches.co.uk}}

Governance

Horningtoft is part of the electoral ward of Hermitage for local elections and is part of the district of Breckland.

The village's national constituency is Mid Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's George Freeman MP since 2010.

Notable Residents

Fuller Pilch- (1804-1870) Norfolk and Kent cricketer, born in Horningtoft.

War Memorial

Horningtoft's war memorials are two brass plaques in St. Edmund's Church which list the following names for the First World War:{{Cite web |title=Geograph:: Hackford to Hunworth :: War Memorials in Norfolk |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/War-Memorials-in-Norfolk/10 |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=www.geograph.org.uk}}

class="wikitable"

!Rank

!Name

!Unit

!Date of Death

!Burial/Commemoration

Pte.

|Thomas Annison

|15th Bn., Queen's Royal Regiment

|4 Feb. 1917

|St. Edmund's Churchyard

Pte.