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Depden is mentioned in the Doomsday book as "Depdana"
"Lands of William de Varennes. Hugh de Wancey holds what Toka the thane held in K.E.'s time as a manor, viz., 3 carucates, 12a. meadow. A church with 24a."
"Lands of Richard son of Earl Gislebert. Brictic Vlack a freeman holds 2 carucates. 3a. meadow. Frodo the Abbot's brother holds over him. And 2 freemen Blackwin and Goodwin hold 2 carucates. 3a. meadow. Osbern holds over them"
After the de Wanceys, the manor of Depden passed through the Gurney, Jermyn, Coell, Thornhill, Mure and Adair families. By the nineteenth century much of the land in Depden was owned by the Marquis of Bristol of nearby Ickworth House.
Given the relatively isolated location of the church, it has been suggested that the orignal settlement was in fact around the church and that this area was later deserted in favour of the Green, but there doesn't seem to have been much archaeological investigation of this.
Perhaps the only notable resident of Depden was Anthony Sparrow (1612-1685) who was Bishop of Exeter and later Bishop of Norwich.
During the second world war, Chedburgh Airfield was built on farmland in the eastern part of the parish as a subsidiary station to RAF Stradishall. The airfield closed in 1946. Some of the original buildings can be seen in Chedburgh and parts of the runways are still visible near Elms Farm (www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand).
Copies of a pamphlet on the history of the village are available for purchase in the church. (H. J. Woollard, Depden: Church and Village. Needham Market 1981).
There are fifteen listed buildings in the village, see English Heritage website (lbonline.english-heritage.org.uk) and photos of them are on the Images of England website (www.imagesofengland.org.uk).