Broach

Broach, Baroach, or Bharuch, a town of Guzerat, Bombay Presidency, on the north bank of the Nerbudda, 228 miles N. of Bombay by rail. Anciently one of the chief ports of Western India, and in the 16th century ' a town of weavers making the finest cloth in the world,' Broach was taken by the British in 1772, ceded to Sindhia in 1783, and again retaken by the British in 1803. It carries on a small coasting trade, the principal exports being raw cotton, grain, and seeds. Pop. 42,168, including many Parsees and Jains.

Broadford

Broadford, a coast-village of Skye, 8 miles WSW. of Kyle Akin ferry.

Broadhaven

Broadhaven, a watering-place of Pembrokeshire, 6 miles WSW. of Haverfordwest.

Broadlands

Broadlands. See Romsey.

Broadmoor

Broadmoor, in SE. Berkshire, 2 miles from Wellington College Station, is the state asylum for 500 criminal lunatics. It is a large brick building, opened in 1863.

Broadstairs

Broadstairs, a Kentish watering-place 1 3/4 mile NE. of Ramsgate, so named from the breadth of the sea-gate or stair, which was formerly defended by a gate or archway. Near it is a noble orphanage, founded by Mrs Tait. Dickens was a frequent visitor. Pop. 6266.

Broadway

Broadway, an old-fashioned Worcestershire village, a great artists' haunt, 5 1/2 miles SE. of Evesham. Pop. of parish, 1436.

Brocken

Brocken (Mons Bructerus of the Romans; popularly Blocksberg), the highest summit (3740 feet) of the Harz Mountains, in Prussian Saxony, 20 miles WSW. of Halberstadt. It holds an important place in folklore as the witches' meeting-place on Walpurgis night, and for the optical illusion known as the 'spectre of the Brocken.'

Brockenhurst

Brockenhurst, a New Forest village, Hampshire, 4 1/2 miles N. by W. of Lymington.

Brocket Hall

Brocket Hall, Herts, on the Lea, 2 1/2 miles N. of Hatfield, has been the seat of Lord Melbourne, Lord Palmerston, and Earl Cowper.

Brockton

Brockton, formerly called North Bridgewater, a town of Massachusetts, U.S., 20 miles S. of Boston. It manufactures boots. Pop. (1880) 13,608; (1890) 27,294; (1900) 40,063.

Brockville

Brockville, a town of Ontario, on the left bank of the St Lawrence, 125 miles SW. of Montreal. It is on the Grand Trunk and the Brockville and Ottawa railways, and a port of call for steamers. It took its name from Sir Isaac Brock (1769-1812), who fell in the battle of Queenstown. Pop. 9609.

Brodick

Brodick, a coast-village of Arran, 14 miles WSW. of Ardrossan.

Brody

Brody, a town of Galicia, 89 miles ENE. of Lemberg by rail. A free town from 1779 to 1879, it has leather and flax manufactures, breweries, refineries, etc. The trade is in the hands of the Jews, who form three-fourths of the inhabitants of this 'German Jerusalem.' Pop. 17,534.

Broek

Broek (rhyming with Luke), 4 1/2 miles NE. of Amsterdam, was formerly the show 'clean village' of Holland. Pop. 1553.

Bromberg

Bromberg, a town of Posen, 6 miles from the Vistula, and 99 SSW. of Danzig. It has iron-foundries, machine-shops, cloth and paper mills, distilleries, breweries, and corn-mills. The Bromberg Canal, 17 miles long, by uniting the Netz and Brahe, connects the Oder and Elbe with the Vistula. Pop. (1843) 8878; (1900) 52,160.