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Coddenham village store's 100th birthday celebrated

Matt Marvel/BBC Village Community shop in Coddenham.Matt Marvel/BBC
The village of Coddenham had few paved roads and no mains water when the shop opened in 1923

A weekend of celebration has been planned to mark the 100th birthday of a Suffolk village store.

The shop in Coddenham, near Needham Market, has been owned by the Gudgin family since it opened in July 1923.

Roy Gudgin said: "My grandfather came in 1923. At the age of 15, when I left school, my mother and father expected me to follow, so I came in."

People will be dressing up in vintage clothing to celebrate and children will be given a pre-decimalisation penny.

Matt Marvel/BBC Roy GudginMatt Marvel/BBC
The shop has been owned by Roy Gudgin's family for 100 years, beginning with his grandfather

A party has been arranged for Saturday evening to thank volunteers who have helped to run the business as a community shop in recent years.

It is now the only shop left now in the village, and the Coddenham Parish community website described how things have changed since it opened.

It said: "When Albert Gudgin bought the Coddenham shop in 1923, Coddenham had unmade roads, no mains water or drainage and a limited electrical supply."

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