Broughton is a village and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the City of Preston, Lancashire

City of Preston, Lancashire

The City of Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district in Lancashire, England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign...

, England, about 4 miles (6 km) north of Preston city centre. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,735. The parish is included in Preston Rural North

Preston Rural North

Preston Rural North is an electoral ward in the City of Preston, Lancashire, England. The ward is the largest by area in the city, containing the smaller and smallest villages from the northern areas of Preston, from Woodplumpton bordering the M55 motorway junction at Broughton, to Beacon Fell at...

 ward of Preston city council, and the Preston Rural division of Lancashire County council.

Geography

Broughton is separated by the main A6 road and is close to the motorway interchange of the M6

M6 motorway

The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...

 and M55

M55 motorway

The M55 is a motorway in Lancashire, England, which can also be referred to as the Preston Northern Bypass. It connects the seaside resort of Blackpool to the M6 at Preston. It is 11.4 miles in length.-Route:...

. Because of this Broughton often experiences major traffic congestion and therefore, after years of debate, a bypass has been planned to ease the traffic flow.

Sport

Regarding sport, there is evidence that the village has been home to a football club since the early 1900s. However the current club, Broughton Amateurs AFC, was formed in 1947 and they play in the Lancashire Amateur League. During their 'glory years' of the late 1970s through the 1980s they were managed by ex-Preston North End

Preston North End F.C.

Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...

 & Birmingham City

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 striker Eddy Brown

Eddy Brown

Edwin "Eddy" Brown is an English former footballer who played as a centre forward. He played professionally for a number of clubs, but the peak of his career was spent with Birmingham City during their most successful period in the 1950s...

. For more information view the Club's own website http://www.broughtonfc.co.uk/.

Religion

The Parish Church of St John Baptist, is the centre of a large and busy Anglican community, with two satellite worship centres and a parish hall in Fulwood. The current vicar is Rev. Sidney Fox.

The church steeple dates from 1533 and is the oldest working building in Preston. It is currently undergoing restoration. The nave was replaced in 1826, while the choir was added in 1906. There is evidence of a church having been on the site before the sixteenth century, and the font is thought to be Saxon.

The church choir consists of approximately 30 men and 30 boys, and is directed by John Catterall MBE. They sing at two Sunday services and on other occasions, except when on their annual tours to France and the Isle of Man.

The civil parish also contains the Roman Catholic church of St Mary's, Fernyhalgh.

Telephone exchange

Broughton telephone exchange was the UK's first Crossbar

TXK

TXK was a range of Crossbar exchanges used by the British Post Office telephone network, subsequently BT, between 1964 and 1994. TXC was used as the designation at first, but this was later changed as TXC sounded too much like TXE the code used for later electronic exchanges...

 exchange. The current exchange building, which was extended at the front in the 1980s, was built for a field trial of Plessey's

Plessey

The Plessey Company plc was a British-based international electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after the second world war by acquisition of companies and formed overseas companies...

 new 5005A crossbar exchange in 1964 replacing Broughton's manual exchange. The village was chosen due to its relative proximity to the Plessey factory and research centre at Edge Lane Liverpool.

Unique claims

Broughton has several unique claims. The Broughton C of E primary school is the oldest in the country, being built in 1590 and it is the only parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 in the UK to have a fire, police

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

 and ambulance headquarters within its own boundaries.