Suffolk village shop celebrates 100 years under ownership of the same family
The village shop in Coddenham has been in the Gudgin family for the past century
A Suffolk community has celebrated the centenary of its village shop.
Coddenham Community Shop has been under the ownership of the Gudgin family since 1923, with local man Roy Gudgin being the third member of his family to own the property.
Over the weekend as special celebration of the shop was held at Coddenham Village Hall with hundreds of customers past and present joining in with the festivities.
Staff at the shop also donned 1920s style costumes to mark the occasion.
It's thought Coddenham has had a village shop on the site since the 17th century, with ownership of the current building passing to Albert Gudgin in 1923.
Albert already has experience running a Co-op in Ipswich with wife Millie coming from a family of fish merchants.
The business was first run as a grocers and drapers and was eventually taken over by Albert's son Dudley and wife Joan, before passing to Roy Gudgin and wife Ann.
Roy retired in 2001 but the shop has remained open under various managers since then.
In 2019 the store, which is the only one remaining in Coddenham, reopened in its current form as a volunteer-run community-focused business.
It still sells groceries but now also functions as a cafe and meeting point for locals.