Tibenham is mentioned in the Domesday Book, the enumeration of places and assets taken after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

The name comes from Tibb's ham, meaning in Old Saxon, Tibb's place or home.  Over the years it has had many spellings, examples of which are Tybenham and Tibbenham.  Indeed, until the introduction of computer databases and postal codes, Tibbenham was still a common spelling this century.

The village was already established by the time of the Domesday Book as the north wall of the church shows traces of Saxon flint work, which means that a church was on the site before 1066. Hastings Hall was first recorded in 1272, and was built and owned by the Abbot of Bury St Edmunds.

There are many old buildings in Tibenham, the most notable being Channonz Hall and Hastings Hall, although there are many others built in the vernacular style of wood-framed clay lump construction and pan-tiled roofs.

The history of Tibenham through the ages is interesting for its normality; parish records show that, far from being a rural idyll, village life often involved hard toil.  Sadly, the village has declined in the last century, like most rural agricultural economies.  Read my essay on rural decline.

For further details of the village's history, take a Tour round Tibenham, with much more detail about the individual buildings, the characters and the myths.