Broughton, Northamptonshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Broughton is a large village and civil parish in the borough of Kettering of the county of Northamptonshire in England. Its population, as of 2001, is just over 2,000.
The village is located around 2 miles (3km) southwest of Kettering next to the A43 road (it was by-passed in 1984).
Broughton has a long history, being referred to as "Burtone" in the Domesday Book.
An ancient ritual, which still exists in the village, is that of the "Tin Can Band", which is held annually in mid-December, when, at midnight, a group of people walk around the village making as much noise as possible by banging on tin-cans (anything from cans to pots and pans and metal dustbins), either to scare away evil spirits just before Christmas, or (less charitably) to drive out Gypsies. Nowadays it's quite good-natured, but in the past there have been riotous scenes, especially in years when the authorities tried to prevent it happening.
