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Horndon-on-the-Hill is listed in the Doomsday Book as Horninduna. This name appears on a Saxon coin of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066AD) and suggests that Horninduna was once the site of a Royal Anglo-Saxon mint. Horndon's 16th century Woolmarket indicates the importance of the wool trade and is one of the area's historical treasures.

From 'The King's England - Essex' by Arthur Mee 1949 Edition :-
"Its delightful houses take us into another age, jostling each other with their thatched roofs. A timbered Inn has overhung the road for 500 years, the 400 year old market hall is a club for the village folk and Arden Hall has a square brick dovecourt of the 17th century. But an avenue of lime trees brings us to the quaint porch of a church older than the houses, for we come into it through a Norman doorway to find the light falling through two Norman clerestory windows. The nave arcades are 13th century with fine piers carved with leaves and flowers. The splendid chancel roof is 15th century, probably the work of carpenters who set up the huge beams crowning one of the four bays to support the timber belfry. The font, of unusual desighn and simple beauty, is 600 years old."

There is a belief that Anne Boleyn may have been buried in this churchyard after her execution, and older residents will point out the place where their parents (and their's before them, etc.) told them she was interred. It is an unmarked grave with a brick surround at ground level. Unfortunately there is nothing to confirm whether this is true; and another Horndon Parish claims she was buried there.

The religious martyr Thomas Higbed is purported to have been burnt at the stake in the yard of "The Bell". To read more about Thomas Higbed click here.

To see more click on the following links :-
Horndon-on-the-Hill
'The Bell'
'The Swan'
St Peter & St Paul Church