 The "Hutchinson Chronology of World History" described his work on the Kennet navigation as "[setting] a new standard for inland waterways, and is an important forerunner of the canals of the Industrial Revolution".Hore's date of birth is disputed; some sources give his year of birth as 1690, although it is likely he is the same John Hore who was baptised in Thatcham, Berkshire in March 1680.Hore's father, also named John, was possibly a yeoman in Thatcham who became a joint proprietor of the River Kennet, though the family were established and prosperous maltsters in the Newbury area.