The village was recorded in the Domesday Book as Doddenhenc, an Anglo-Saxon name meaning "the wood of Dudda or of his people".

The Church has a 13th-century nave and south doorway with other aspects added or improved during the 15th and 17th centuries with a major restoration in 1886 including the rebuilding of the chancel.

In addition to recreational space the Parish Council manage the Burial Ground at the rear of All Saints Church and Garden Allotments off Mountnessing Lane.

The village is set in a rural farming environment with pleasant fields and small deciduous woods, many of which are connected by a network of gently undulating public footpaths.

Much of the village has been built or redeveloped from 1950 onward although it remains a largely rural community with much of the area given over to arable agriculture.