In 1321 Sir Edmunds de Hemegrave whose family held the manor of Tuddenham is listed under resident gentry but did he ever live here? He was a very prominent figure in East Anglia being a lawyer under King Edward I High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk and Govenor of Norwich Castle.

The Pleasaunce family obtained the Manor of Benstead during the late 1500’s two of them, Thomas, in 1567 and in 1591 Anthony, having schooled at ‘Exning and Tuddenham’, attended Cambridge University.

Thomas Shelley who is buried beside his wife, daughter and son in law in the church nave was also a Cambridge graduate and a barrister at Greys Inn in London and owned property here and at Bury St. Edmunds.

In the late 1800’s / early 1900’s the village was almost self sufficient having resident shopkeepers, shoemakers, farmers, a tailor, butcher, baker, wheelwright, miller schoolteacher, blacksmith, dressmaker, bricklayer, market gardener, grocer and of course a vicar.

With French and Chinese people Tuddenham has been quite cosmopolitan, the closeness of the American bases at Mildenhall and Lakenheath means we often have personnel from these buying or renting property here and some take an active part in village life (e.g. Wayne Crandall, founder Member of the Friends of St. Marys and a Lay Reader).

 Two well known and successful jockeys, Willie Ryan and Richard Hills, both lived here during the early 90's and over the years we've had our share of unique local characters who never hit the national headlines but added interest and enchantment to the village.