Hessett is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk around four miles south east of Bury St Edmunds, in 2005 its population was 490. Hessett is south of Beyton and west of Drinkstone.

The village can be originally referred to "Hedge Fold" then breaking down Hessett's elements into hecg meaning "Hedge" and Set referring to "a dwelling, a camp, a place for animals, a stable, a fold"

The small village has been present in this area for over "1000 years with the earliest mention was in AD 1005 when Ulfketel gave the village (alongside others) to Abbey Bury, St. Edmund's." According to the 2011 Census there were 216 males and 248 females living in Hessett at this time.

From the population time series created using data from the Neighbourhood Statistics website the graph shows some considerable decline in the population from 1850 until approximately the 1970s where there has been a considerable incline in the population for Hessett. This data could coincide with certain points in history which would mark the decline in population in the early 1900s where many of the men would have been sent to war- many of whom would not have returned, as according to the total population for Hessett for 1911 there was 382 people living in Hessett but by 1921 there were 40 less people living in this small village. The population time series also shows the establishment of the NHS in the 1950's contributes to this significant incline of population in England at this time.

The 1945 map of Hessett retrieved from Vision of Britain shows the extent of the area of Hessett. It is a very small village with the heart of the village being The Green which is a small area of grass. The boundary of the 1945 map includes the Monk Wood and some part of the Drinkstone Park but not all.
From the graph showing occupations for male and females in 1881 for Hessett it is dominated by agricultural based occupations with much reference to men only- at this stage in history it was common for women to lead a more domestic life in working at home. This vast majority of the population working in this area in 1881 suggests that Hessett was quite a remote place made up of farms and fields.

From the current key statistics of the 2011 census report it showed the ratio of male to female residents in Hessett with a total population of 464 residents- 216 being male and 248 female.

The census in 1831 gave a more detailed structure into people's occupation in comparison to the 1801 census, for Hessett, the majority of the male population aged 20 and over were involved in some agricultural occupation as "the land is chiefly arable" for example; " Farmers employing labourers and agricultural labourers." The remaining of males in Hessett held occupations of "Retail and Handicrafts and two Farmers not employing Labourers". This information shows that the majority of males living in Hessett in 1831 were mostly involved in agricultural occupations rather than Capitalists professions.

The Church in Hessett represents the majority of the village due to its features as "the interior of the church contains some stained windows, and a small chapel in the N. aisle containing a monument to Colonel Aldrich" which represents features of Christianity. The Church also provides the history of Hessett as it "contains tombs of the Bacons, who built the church". According to the work taken out by Simon Knott his research over the past 10 years has contributed hugely to the history of the Church of St Ethelbert whereby he acknowledges the "typical Suffolk perpendicular church of the 15th century" along with a mention of the typical features found in the Church of St. Ethelbert including "the chancel is separated from the nave by the 15th century rood screen, which is elegantly painted and gilt on the west side". There was a period in 1969 whereby Mrs Mary Moss claimed Reverend Kenneth Matthews (Reverend of the Hessett Church at this time) managed to cure her condition of being unable to walk when the Reverend "put his hands on her head and told her to get up from the wheelchair" which led to masses amount of people traveled to the Church in order to receive the same magical treatment for their conditions.

From the data of properties sold from 2015 the average housing pricing is relatively high as the average price for a detached house in Hessett in £314,681 with eight properties being sold in the IP30 postcode (June 2015).