Broughton-in-Furness

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Broughton-in-Furness

Coordinates: 54.2782° N 3.2142° W
Population	900
OS grid reference	SD209876
District	South Lakeland
Shire county	Cumbria
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BROUGHTON-IN-FURNESS
Postcode district	LA20
Dial code	01229
Police	Cumbria
Fire	Cumbria
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Westmorland and Lonsdale
European Parliament	North West England
List of places: UK • England • Cumbria

Broughton-in-Furness is a small town on the southern boundary of England's Lake District National Park. It is located in the Furness region of Cumbria that was part of Lancashire before 1974. It lies near the River Duddon, just inland from the West Cumbrian coastal village of Foxfield.

Dating from around the eleventh century, the original settlement grew to become the local market town for both fishing and agriculture. The central obelisk in the town square was constructed to mark the Jubilee of King George III in 1810.

In 1859, the Coniston branch of the Furness Railway, which passed through the town, was opened. Nearly one hundred years later, in 1958, the line was closed and dismantled. Broughton's nearest railway station is now Foxfield railway station, two miles south-west of the town.

The creation of the National Park in the 1950s created some tourism, though most tourists still head further north or east. The diversion of the A595 in the 1990s improved the environment of the town and helped it retain its rural feel.

One of Broughton's chief tourist attractions is a museum of commemorative pottery, currently featuring an extensive collection of Sydney 2000 Olympic exhibits.

Broughton square hosts the famous Beswick's restaurant named after Joyce and Ian Beswick, who established the restaurant in 1978 in one of the Georgian properties forming this unique square. The kitchen uses fine cuts of meat from the Berkshire Boar and Galloway cow, amongst others.