The village of Mells in Somerset has longe been associated with the Little Jack Horner Nursery Rhyme. This account of that link was published in Heroes and Heroines of Fiction, Classical Mediæval, Legendary: Famous Chracters and Famous Names in Novels, Romances, Poems and Dramas, Classified, Analyzed and criticised, with Supplementary Citations from the best Authorities by William Shepard Walsh, Published in 1915.
Little Jack Horner, hero of a ” Mother Goose ” jingle of that name. He is represented as sitting in a corner eating a Christmas pie,
He put in his thumb
And pulled out a plum
And said “What a good boy am I!A tradition, preserved in Somersetshire, identifies him with an ancestor of Sir John Horner, who after the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII, acquired the manor of Mells or Wells Park, formerly owned by the Abbey of Glastonbury. This fact is commemorated in the couplet,
Windham, Horner, Popham and Thynne,
When the Abbot went .out then they came in.Jack Horner, this story runs, was a serving lad to the Abbot of Glastonbury. The latter, thinking to propitiate Henry, sent him the title deeds to twelve manors, enclosed in one of the huge coffin-shaped pastries then popular. This was deemed the best way of concealing them, and Jack was pitched upon as the messenger least calculated to excite suspicion on the way to London. The lad got hungry and sat down by the wayside to taste just a little of the pie he was carrying. He inserted his thumb under the crust and pulled out one of the parchments, which he concealed about his person, possibly because he found it difficult to restore it in good order. When the pie was opened Henry discovered that the deed to Mells manor was missing, whereupon he ordered the execution of Abbot Whiting and the confiscation of the Abbey and its estates. Later there was found in the possession of the Horner family a deed to the Mells property.
This was the ” plum ” that Jack Horner had pulled out of the pie!
Family Connections 
Bob Horner said,
November 11, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Does anyone have anything on the history of Little Jack Horner? For example was he sent down to Glastonbury from one of the Northern monasteries? I am particularly interested in his family tree which could originate in the lands owned by Fountains or Bylands abbies.
Margaret Horner said,
November 8, 2011 at 6:11 pm
Family tradition has it that John Horner a steward of Thomas Cromwell obtained the deeds of Jervaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire when he was transporting a pie in which the feeds were hidden. He got hungry ate the pie and found the deeds. My great uncle Jack (John) said that we were a cadet branch and theain fily lived at Snape north Yorkshire. It is the same area as Byland.
Johan Mells said,
March 4, 2010 at 2:52 am
I have read of this story before but I am interested in how the town was to be called `Mells` and not Glastonbury. What is the connection to the `Mells` family name?
Zach Horner said,
October 11, 2010 at 10:13 am
I to am interested in th history of little jack horner and also more of the Sir John Horner.
Andrew Foyle said,
May 17, 2011 at 8:14 am
The association of the nursery rhyme with Mells and the Horners is bunkum… picturesque, but still bunkum. The Mells Horners purchased the deed to the manor of Mells and its house from Henry VIII in 1543. I have seen the deed with the King’s signature, which hangs in the house. It’s also well-documented fact that Abbot Whiting of Glastonbury was executed in 1539 not because of any missing piece of paper but on grounds of treason The evidence for treason was obscured (probably deliberately). Whether he ever had a serving lad called Jack Horner I’ve no idea, but if so he was probably unrelated to a family wealthy enough to buy the Mells property.
The nursery rhyme myth became current in the late 19th century when the Mells Horners were becoming something of a literary and artistic force in London society – maybe inspired by a bit of jealousy.
Rex Horner said,
April 27, 2012 at 10:27 pm
Does anyone know the family crest for Horner??
Tony FAWKES said,
March 18, 2018 at 12:49 pm
I married a Horner, complete with family crest. Are you still looking?
Button Quinn said,
April 16, 2018 at 5:49 am
Did the Horner family own Rodden Manor in Frome, I was told that the plum was also this Manor?
Mary Horner said,
October 21, 2013 at 2:17 pm
ahaha thats my surname too!