It lies between the towns of Bury St Edmunds, Thetford, Mildenhall, Downham Market and the city of Ely.

[4][8] The earliest known spelling was in the 11th century when the town, gradually expanding up and along the rising ground of the river valley, was called Bromdun.

[14][15] A fire started at the surgeon's home from either a lightning strike[citation needed] or by hot ash embers being blown onto the thatched roof of a wooden shed by the wind.

[16] It quickly spread to the surrounding properties,[citation needed] in part due to the absence of enough able-bodied young men to contain the fire, as many were at a fair day in nearby Thetford.

[citation needed] The hardest hit was Francis Diggon, the saddler,[16] who lost all of his property and possessions, costing a total of 381 pounds, 2 shillings.

[citation needed] During both world wars, the Brecks, including Brandon, Thetford, and Elveden, were used as military training grounds, in part due to the easy access from London via rail.

[23] The town is home to Brandon Country Park[24] and is a short distance from High Lodge which hosts musical gigs in the summer.

[citation needed] In 2018 the group entered Anglia in Bloom for the first time and was awarded Silver Gilt and Best New Comer, followed by Gold in 2019.

[28] Brandon's first permanent cinema was brought to the town by Stanley Lingwood in 1917 after he was pensioned out of the Army due to a severe hand wound sustained at the Somme.

At that time, he sold it to a King's Lynn businessman[citation needed] named Ben Culey, who had a cinema in neighbouring Thetford.

Regular bus services operate from Brandon to the neighbouring towns of Bury St. Edmunds, Mildenhall and Thetford.

[46][47] As of February 2023[update] there is typically one train per hour to Norwich and one to Stansted Airport via Cambridge, operated by Greater Anglia.

[48] Brandon railway station has an hourly service to Cambridge and Ely to the West and to Thetford and Norwich in the East.