The name
Spelt in The Doomsday Book as Bertone, Broughton goes through several spellings including Bergton, Broghton and Braughton. Translated the name means 'farmstead by a hill or mound'.
More information can be found in:
- Eminson, T.B.F. Place and River Names of the West Riding of Lindsey, Lincolnshire.
- Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of English Place Names.
The place
Broughton is situated eight miles to the east of Scunthorpe, and became a town as oppose to a village in 1974.
Until 1861 and the arrival of the iron industry in Scunthorpe Broughton was a village based completely on agriculture. By the advent of the First World War the village had grown considerably in population and changed from agricultural to industrial occupations.
With its location by the Roman road of Ermine Street (know better known as the A15) Roman occupation at or near Broughton is highly likely. Finds of Roman tiles, coins and pottery add considerable weight to this theory.
In 1713 Madam Catherine Thompson left the parish of Broughton £213 with £200 of this bequest "to the poor of Broughton in freehold land". Madam Catherine's gift is still remembered today as on that "freehold land" now stands the street named 'Catherine Grove'.
Population history
| Year |
Population |
|
1801 |
729 |
|
1811 |
747 |
|
1821 |
827 |
|
1831 |
915 |
|
1841 |
913 |
|
1851 |
1240 |
|
1861 |
1280 |
|
1871 |
1205 |
|
1881 |
1308 |
|
1891 |
1510 |
|
1901 |
1559 |
|
1911 |
1381 |
|
1921 |
1744 |
|
1931 |
1959 |
|
1941 |
N/A |
|
1951 |
2489 |
|
1961 |
2764 |
|
1971 |
3409 |
|
1981 |
4247 |
|
1991 |
4448 |
Entry from Kelly's Trade Directory for 1900
Broughton is a large parish and village, 3.5 miles north from Scawby station on the main line and 3 south from Appleby station on the Penistone and Grimsby branch of the Great Central railway and 4 miles north-west from Brigg. In the North Lindsey division of the county, East division of Manley Wapentake, Brigg petty sessional division, parts of Lindsey, Glanford Brigg Union, Brigg county court district, rural deanery of Manlake, archdeaconry of Stow and diocese of Lincoln. Here is a Weslyan chapel, built in 1845, and a Primitive Methodist chapel, built in 1841. The hamlet of Gokewell, 2 miles north-west, was the site of a Cistercian nunnery, founded by William Dautrey (De Alta Ripa) before 1148;There were, at the Dissolution, a prioress and six nuns, the gross yearly revenue being about £19; the site was granted, 30 Hen. (1538-9), to Sir Thomas Tirwhitt. Broughton seems to have been a Roman settlement, and many fragments of pottery, bricks and tiles have been found there. The chief crops are wheat, barley and oats. The area is 7,038 acres of land and 35 of water; rateable value £6,689; the population in 1891 was 1,257. That portion of the parish called Brigg Foot forms part of the town of Brigg, and by Local Government Board Order 26,921, in March 1892, was amalgamated with Brigg.
Holdings in North Lincolnshire Local Studies Library
- Broughton Town Council - 'This is Broughton' 1968 - 1989 annually.
- Broughton Town Council - 'Broughton 96'.
References in the Star Newspaper Index
- National schools closed for 6 weeks due to Scarlet Fever LLS 28.8.1902 5b.
- Schools closed due to measles outbreak LLS 7.5.1904 5d.
- Dog and Rat - Sale of NLS 9.5.1891 5b.
- Village pump opened LS 27.5.1893 4f.