Broom is a small village in the

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 ...

of Southill, in the

Central Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire is a Districts of England, local government district in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council, a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority. It was created ...

district of

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 about south-east of the county town 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 ...

. The 2011 census shows its population as 579.

Geography

Broom lies south-west of

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, This figur ...

and south-west of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. Elevation The village is above sea level. Geology, soil type and land use The village is surrounded by arable farmland and lies on glacial gravel over green and brown sandstones. The soil is highly fertile, freely draining and slightly acid but base-rich. Since the mid-1990s sand and gravel quarrying has taken place north of the village between the B658 and Gypsy Lane on land previously used for market gardening. There are a number of man-made lakes including the of Broom Big Lake, now used for fishing. The night sky and light pollution

Light pollution Light pollution is the presence of any unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting sources, during the ...

is the level of radiance (night lights) shining up into the night sky. The

Campaign to Protect Rural England Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar produ ...

(CPRE) divides the level of night sky brightness into 9 bands with band 1 being the darkest i.e. with the lowest level of light pollution and band 9 the brightest and most polluted. Broom with an index of 1-2 nanoWatts (nW) is in band 4. The night sky brightens towards Biggleswade but is darker to the west.

History

The name Broom simply refers to the plant. Broom is mentioned 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 ...

. The entry reads; ''Brume: Nigel de la Vast from Nigel d'Aubigny'' It has long been a 'farming' village with a number of small local market gardeners. Many have been farming families for generations. The village originally consisted of the High Street, High Road and Southill Road. Housing was built by Biggleswade Rural District Council on Bancroft Avenue in the first quarter of the 20th century. In the 1970s, Birch Close and The Woodlands were built on the other side of 'the ditch'. There is a mixture of old farm houses as well as newer buildings. In past years the village had four pubs, a post office, village shop and a small church. There was also a village football team that played on the village green. The Cock is a mid-19th century

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

at 23 High Street. It is on the

Campaign for Real Ale The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. History The organisation was founded on 16 ...

National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors The National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors was a register of public houses in the United Kingdom with interiors which had been noted as being of significant historic interest, having remained largely unchanged for at least 30 years, but us ...

. The pub is one of a handful in the UK that has no serving counter. Drinks and food are served by staff to customers in a variety of small rooms. The pub also boasts traditional table skittles. Broom Hall is a three-storey, grade II listed, mid 18th century country house standing just off the High Street. It has been converted into flats and apartments. Broom Park was described as a Gentleman's Country Estate when it was put up for auction shortly after the Second World War.

Governance

Broom elects six councillors to Southill parish council. It is part of ''Northill'' ward for elections to the

Unitary Authority. Prior to 1894, Broom was administered as part of the hundred of Wixamtree. From 1894 until 1974 it was in Biggleswade Rural District and from 1974 to 2009 in Mid Bedfordshire District. Broom is in the North Bedfordshire UK Parliament constituency; from 2011 to 2023 it was in North East Bedfordshire and from 1918 to 2010 in Mid Bedfordshire.

Public transport

Grant Palmer operates route 200 a two-hourly Monday to Saturday daytime bus service to Biggleswade (journey time seven minutes) and to Southill, Shefford and

Flitwick Flitwick () is a town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "a hamlet on the River Flitt". The spelling ''Flytwyk'' appears in 1381. The nearby River Flit runs through Flitwick Moor, ...

(just over an hour). There are weekly, Wednesday only services to Cambridge (operated by Ivel Sprinter. Journey time one hour 12 minutes) and Bedford (by Wanderbus. Time 30 minutes). Wanderbus also runs monthly services to

St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

and

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second Garden city movement, garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first New towns in the United Kingdom, new towns (designated 1948). It is ...

. The nearest railway station is

Community

Usually in July there is a village fete, which raises money for local charities as well as providing entertainment for the villagers and visitors. There is also a weekend music festival known as "Broomstock" held usually at the end of July.

Education

It is in the catchment zone for Robert Bloomfield Academy. It is also in the catchment zone of Samuel Whitbread Academy, which has an upper school and sixth form. - Map is on p. 35/35.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Bedfordshire Southill, Bedfordshire