A priory was first established here after the land was given to the Montjoux priory in eastern France by Henry II in 1168. Their monks built the oldest surviving part of the church - the nave - around 1243. Some sources assert that the tower was built by William Wykeham, Bishop of Westminster, after the lands were taken away from the French priory by Richard II (of original 'poll tax' fame) and purchased by Wykeham in 1391. "The King giveth, and the King taketh away". A build date of c.1490s is more likely. The church is built of septaria and ragstone with some brick. Unusually, the North wall contains many bottles, placed both neck and base outwards. Originally referred to as simply the "church of Havering", the place-name 'Horned church' occurs by the 13th century, and a carving of a bull's head with copper horns was in place on the eastern gable by the early 1800s.