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.