Until Ulverston stole its thunder by linking itself by canal to the sea in 1847, Broughton in Furness was an important market town serving a wide area of Furness. It still has a cattle market but now it's just like a friendly unspoilt village.
Broughton nestles in a hollow between wooded hills midway between Barrow in Furness and Millom. Many of the houses are Georgian including those in the elegant square, set out by the Lord of the Manor to resemble a London square. In the middle stands an obelisk erected in 1810 to commemorate the Jubilee of George III, together with the ancient fish-slabs once used for the sale of fish caught in the nearby River Duddon. Also adjacent is the town stocks, no doubt well used in times gone by, but nowadays very much a sense of amusement to the town's many visitors. Opposite is the 'Town Hall' dating from 1766, at one time a market hall with lock-up shops, now housing the Tourist Information Centre.
Broughton was at one time the centre of the wool trade, together with the manufacture of oak baskets (swills). Visitors will find several yards which lead to many old buildings often with unusual restrictions placed upon them, still in force today - because of the 'rights of way' necessary to reach the wells.
The town is ancient in origin having been mentioned in the Domesday Book, and the two important buildings - the church and the castle - are Norman. The church of St Mary Magdalene was consecrated in 1547 and was rebuilt during Victorian times. It has a ring of ten bells - most unusual for such a small place. Broughton Tower, an 18th to 19th century mansion built around a 14th century defensive tower, is set in parkland a little to the north of the village. The ruins are complete with dungeons. Broughton Tower unfortunately is not open to the public.
Just three miles from Broughton in Furness is Broughton Mills, so called because of the woollen mill that was at one time located here. There are remains of old kilns where lime was made for the land and buildings.
In the eighteenth century, a busy forge stood by the River Duddon one-and-a-half miles to the west. The ruins of Duddon Forge are open to the public on application to the National Park Authority.
The town seems to have had its name totally corrupted. Instead of referring to its position on a hill (as the modern town now is), the original village is about a mile and a half away at what is now called "Broughton Mills" and the Brough bit of the town's name would seem to be a distortion of "brook". As "brook" is a relatively modern term (bekkr - beck) being the 8th century equivalent, Broughton would seem to have sprung up since that time, likely around the time of the Norman invasion. It would have been an ideal Norman stopover on the way to Millom and Egremont castles.
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