The village takes its name from the River Hor, which flows through the parish on its course from Horsford to Horstead; and a Benedictine priory, founded in honour of St.

This fair was held to the south of Spixworth Road around Bullock Hill and Calf Lane.

[5] In 1894 John Thomas Spurrell, the younger son of Richard James Spurrell of Thurgarton House, inherited several thousand acres in the parish from Barbara, Countess von Rechberg (daughter of Thomas Jones, 6th Viscount Ranelagh, and the estranged wife of the Austrian statesman Count Johann Bernhard von Rechberg und Rothenlöwen).

Of interest inside the church is the rood screen, dated 1528 and adorned with 12 panels depicting saints, and the elaborate Jacobean font cover.

Amenities in the locality include a community centre, primary school, doctor's surgery, two post offices– one serving each village, restaurant, and a small industrial estate.

[8] Located in Manor Road, the St Faith, or Norwich and Norfolk crematorium, was established in 1937.