Early History. The name Broughton means Brook Town, named after the Bearbrook which forms the southern boundary of the village. Earthworks at Oak Farm and others just across the Bearbrook confirm that a sizeable settlement existed at Broughton, possibly dating back to pre-Roman times. Before the Norman Conquest, the "township of Broughton" was owned by a favourite of Edward the Confessor. The Domesday Book records that Broughton was held by "William of Warenne" and the entry also records the presence of a mill.
Medieval
Times. The manor house at Broughton
still exists as Old Manor Farm, and was built in 15th.
Century. Broughton was then in
two parts, the manor house and surrounding farmland was still owned by descendants
of William of Warenne and the remaining land was owned by Missenden
Abbey. By 1600, Broughton
was a sizeable village with moated manor house, water mill, numerous farms and
a large village green. The plan alongside is part of a larger diagram drawn
by Honor Lewington which suggests how it might have
looked (click on the plan for a larger view).
Enclosures The enclosure act of 1780 changed Broughton substantially. Broughton Green was enclosed and numerous paths disappeared completely. By the 17th. century many of the small farms had gone and the whole village was now owned by the Packington family. In 1721, the land that was earlier owned by Missenden Abbey was endowed to Aylesbury Grammar School.
Dairy farming was the most important activity in the village by 1800. Manor Farm was producing so much milk that it purchase a horse-driven mechanical butter churn and produced up to 500 lbs. butter per week. The churn is now in the Science Museum in London.
The
Grand Union Canal was dug to the north of the village in 1811-1813
and the Aylesbury to Cheddington
railway was opened in 1839. 
The railway crossed the Broughton – Bierton
road at Broughton Crossing where an octagonal
cottage was built for the crossing keeper and two terraces for the railway
workers. The railway was finally
closed in 1963. The maps show details of Broughton and
Broughton Crossing from the Ordnance Survey
map of 1880. Click on the maps to show a larger
view of each.
Church, School and Pubs. There are no records of either a church or a school in Broughton although a small chapel may have existed in medieval times. There have been two pubs. The Seven Stars, a timber framed thatched cottage, was built in 17th. century and is now a private house. The Old Moat House (formally the Prince of Wales) at Broughton Crossing was built in the mid 19th. century and first licenced in 1865.
Further Reading The above is a very brief description of Broughton's history. Much more information can be found in:
The Story of Bierton by Mike Griffin and Robin Thurston, 1994
A Young Person’s Guide to the History of Bierton, Broughton and Hulcott by Honor Lewington, 2000
Copies of these books and other documents can be found in the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies the Aylesbury Reference Library.