Broomhill Farm

Broomhill Farm is a fine Grade ll listed Jacobean farmhouse. The date on the old date stone is indistinct (16?8) however, Nicholas Pevsner’s Buildings of England: Derbyshire (1953) describes Raven House in Ashover as having an original plan identical to that of Broomhill Farm, Brackenfield, with a baffle-entry (staircase with splat balusters) and surrounding buildings constructed between 1670 and 1678. It is reasonable therefore to suppose that Broomhill’s date may be 1678.

The name

The name Broomhill is associated with Anglo-Saxon origins when broom was used medicinally, for fuel and for sweeping! Broom was considered to be a diuretic and could lower blood pressure. It signifies an area of land where broom grew and was also adopted as a surname by those who lived there.

Why this grand building was constructed and when it was first called Broomhill Farm is a bit of a mystery. When James Limb of Crich bought it from William Millward of Tibshelf in 1814 it was described as a farmstead on Broom Hill and came with a lot of other named fields totalling 50 acres. In 1833 it was advertised for sale as “Brackenfield Hall Farm”. The Limb family remained at Broomhill until 1932 when Mr Albert Meers took on the tenancy and his descendants farm there to this day.

Where next?

Continue along the path on the right of the field until you reach Millers Lane then turn right up the hill until you reach Green Farm on the left. You will find QR plaque 12 on a post opposite Green Farm.

For a closer look at Broomhill Farm, turn left on reaching Millers Lane and bear left at the junction as far as the large tree on the right.