The original 1854 route of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway passed through the south of the parish of Hornchurch near the River Thames without stopping; the nearest station was at Rainham.

Between 1885 and 1888 a new route authorised as the Barking and Pitsea Railway was constructed, that provided a direct service from Fenchurch Street to Southend, avoiding Tilbury.

The District Railway converted to electric trains in 1905 and services were lost at Hornchurch as they were cut back to East Ham.

Delayed by World War I,[6] an additional pair of electrified fourth rail tracks were extended by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway to Upminster and services of the District resumed at Hornchurch in 1932.

The red brick ticket office is located at street level above the platforms, to which it is connected by a covered footbridge stairway.

The station had a track crossover, to the west of the platforms, enabling trains to terminate there and return to service in the opposite direction.

Works were planned to include provision of tactile strips and colour contrasted handrails for the visually impaired, installation of closed-circuit television cameras, passenger help points, new electronic departure information displays on the platforms, a new public address system, and improved lighting.

Transport for London has assigned the station to the 'limited works' category and plans to complete these improvements incrementally, according to the need to preserve assets.

The station is named after the town of Hornchurch in which it is situated approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the high street.

[16] London Buses routes 165, 193, 248, 252, 256, 370, 372 and school routes 646, 648 and 652 serve the station, providing connections to Collier Row, County Park Estate, Cranham, Lakeside Shopping Centre, Noak Hill, Queen's Hospital, Rainham, Romford and St George's Hospital.