Great Horkesley is a village in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England, approximately 3 miles north of Colchester. Horkesley is located in what is known as "Horkesley Heath", which is a combination of two villages: Great Horkesley and, to the north, Little Horkesley which is an entirely different Parish. Horkesley is a modern name for the original Saxon name of "Horkaslay" which means "farm land for herds" though now it has many fields growing a variety of crops from corn to hemp.