The settlement of Thorpe on the Hill is first mentioned in the Domesday Book. There was a small area of sokeland belonging to the King's manor in Bassingham. A berewic and sokeland belonging to St Peter of Westminster's manor in Doddington is also mentioned. The minimum population was 31. There is also a mention of a further landholding and a church in a dispute.
'Thorpe' is Old Danish, and probably means dependant farm belonging to a settlement, which in this case may be Doddington.
There were 25 households in Thorpe on the Hill in 1563, and by the early eighteenth century there were around 33 families.
In 1801 the population in Thorpe on the Hill was 190, and by 1901 it had grown to 293.
A medieval hollow way, tofts, crewyards and ridge and furrow have been noted on aerial photographs as surviving as earthworks.
Further ridge and furrow earthwork remains have been noted north of Holme Farm and north of the school in the eastern part of the village.