Broom is a small village two miles from  Biggleswade. In the past most of the population was employed in the locality on  large estates or farms.

It once had four public houses, a chapel, a school, three shops  and the famous walnut tree on the green. The green used to be the site of the  annual Broom Bonfire. The children went collecting fuel for weeks beforehand and  people would come from miles around for the fun. The tree was felled in March  1982 as it was said to be unsafe but was subsequently replaced with a new one.

It was once said that: 'The Black Horse, the White Horse, The Cock and The  Plough, All met together and made a fine row!' Only two are still in business.

The White Horse is on the main road through the village opposite  the green and The Cock is in the middle of the High Street. Unusually the Cock  is a 'pub with no bar' as the beer is served straight from the barrels in the  cellar and handed up the stone steps to the waiting customer. The Plough once at  the northern end of the village was demolished to make way for a new bungalow  and The Black Horse, near Holme Mills, is now a private house with only an  ornamental black horse on the wall as a reminder of its past.

The last village shop closed in 1982 and was converted into a private house  but fortunately the post office was saved and is now run from the front room of  another house. The chapel and the school have also gone.

Most of the older buildings are of local Arlesey White bricks or timber  framed. The only old red brick building is Broom Hall, built in the 17th  century. From 1898 until 1936 Rupert Oswald Fordham MP lived there. When his  wife Janet was killed in a tragic hunting accident in 1913 he built the Fordhams  Almshouses in the High Street in her memory. These are unusual with curving  roofs, windows and porches.

The King family farmed in Broom from 1800 - 1946, from Broom Farm House and  Manor House. In 1936 they purchased Broom Hall from Rupert Fordham and made many  improvements including the installation of electricity. It was operated as a  dairy and chicken farm until 1946 and many local people were employed there and  in the house. The property was sold to be turned into flats in 1946 and the land  subdivided.

Broom used to have a thriving industry processing onions. This was carried  out behind one of the farms and many of the village women were employed peeling  onions and putting cauliflower in brine. There was a market on the village green  and tinkers would barter their wares in return for onions. Industry includes  box-making at one of the village farms and several market gardens, taking  advantage of the god conditions and local water supply from a small lake at the  northern end of the village.