Bromham is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Borough of Bedford Bedford, or the Borough of Bedford, is a Districts of England, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is administered by Bedford Borough Council, ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, England, situated around west of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

town centre.

Name

Bromham (Bruneham in Domesday) is probably the enclosed meadow on which the broom or the dyers' weed grew (at present no such flora can be found at that location). Another theory as to the origin of the village's name is Bruna's homestead and was first recorded as Bruneham in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086. Other variants including Bruham (1164–1302), Braham (1227), Bramham (1228), Brumham (1262–87), Brunham (1276–91), Brumbham (1276), Brynham (1276), Broham (1278), Bronham (1338), Broam (1360), Brounham (1361) and Burnham (1361). The modern spelling is first recorded in 1227.

History

The land formed part of the

Barony of Bedford Barony of England, Bedford, England. First creation *Created foPayne de Beauchamp by William Rufus * William de Beauchamp - forfeit for rebelling in the First Barons' War * Faukes de Brent - sent by King John of England to enforce William's ...

held by the Beauchamps. After the

Battle of Evesham The Battle of Evesham (4 August 1265) was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by the future King Edward I, who led t ...

, in which John de Beauchamp fell fighting on the side of the barons, the manor was held for a time by Prince Edward, but afterward divided among the Beauchamp female heirs. Bromham afterward passed successively into the hands of the Mowbrays, the Latimers, the Nevilles, the Passelowes, the Wildes and the Dyves. Early in the 18th century, the manor was bought by Sir Thomas Trevor, who was afterward created Lord Trevor, and whose mother was a daughter of

John Hampden John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English politician from Oxfordshire, who was killed fighting for Roundhead, Parliament in the First English Civil War. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and a cousin of Oliver Cromwell, he was one of ...

, the patriot. Three of his sons succeeded to the title. One of them – the third Lord Trevor – married

Sir Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele ( – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright and politician best known as the co-founder of the magazine ''The Spectator'' alongside his close friend Joseph Addison. Early life Steele was born in Dublin, ...

's (Dick Steele) daughter; and another – the fourth Lord Trevor – inherited the Great Hampden Estate in Bucks, through his grandmother, and was created

Viscount Hampden Viscount Hampden is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the Peerage of Great Britain when the diplomat and politician Robert Hampden, ...

. The Trevors became connected through marriage with the Rice family (the Dynevor Rices) and at the death of the late Miss Rice Trevor the estate passed to the Wingfields.

Social

Bromham plays host to several social events through the year, Bromfest, The Duck Race and many other well organised events.

Notable features

It has a number of notable features including a

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

(Bromham Mill, now open to the public), the Church of St Owen, and a medieval bridge over the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse ( ) is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the ...

that, until 1986, carried the main

A428 road The A428 road is a major road in central and eastern England. It runs between the cities of Coventry and Cambridge by way of the county towns of Northampton and Bedford. Together with the A421, (and the A43, M40 and the A34), the eastern s ...

over the river on 26 arches. The watermill is referred to in the

of 1086 and the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

navigated the Great Ouse a long time ago. The mill was extensively restored in 1980 by

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

millwright A millwright is a craftsman or skilled tradesman who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mechanic'') ...

s Gormley and Goodman to the extent that it was able to grind wheat for flour again for the first time that year since it ceased work in 1939. Alterations to the weir below the mill's

leat A leat (; also lete or leet, or millstream) is the name, common in the south and west of England and in Wales, for an artificial watercourse or aqueduct dug into the ground, especially one supplying water to a watermill or its mill pond. Othe ...

shortly afterwards caused a reduction to the height of the head-race, resulting in poorer performance from the mill's impulse water-wheel.

Location

The parish is for the greater part enclosed in a bend in the Great Ouse, and it touches the parishes of Oakley,

Biddenham Biddenham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, located around west of Bedford town centre near the A428 road. It forms part of the wider Bedford urban area. History The earliest archaeological e ...

Kempston Kempston is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, situated around south-west of Bedford town centre. It had a population of 19,330 in the 2011 census, and forms part of the wider Bedford built-up area. The ...

Stagsden Stagsden is a small but historic village and civil parish located in the Borough of Bedford, northwest Bedfordshire, England, near the Buckinghamshire border. Situated around west of Bedford town centre on one of the main routes between it and ...

Stevington Stevington is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in northern Bedfordshire, England. It is on the River Great Ouse four to five miles northwest of Bedford. Nearby villages include Bromham, Oakley, Pavenham and Turvey. Wes ...

and at its western point, Turvey. It is to the west of Bedford.

References

External links

St Owen's Church websiteVillage websiteBromham section of the Victoria County History of Bedfordshire onlineBromham Baptist Church website
{{authority control Villages in Bedfordshire Populated places on the River Great Ouse Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Borough of Bedford