The town is near the River Lea, which forms the boundary with Essex, and 5 miles (8.0 km) north of the M25 motorway.

The name is believed to derive from the Old English words brocc and burna meaning Badger stream.

The manor was held in the time of Edward the Confessor by Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, but had passed into Norman hands following the Conquest.

[6] The parish church of St Augustine was entirely rebuilt in the 15th century, although a 12th-century Purbeck marble font survives.

All that remained was one of the six brick kilns and the horse-drawn puddling wheel that ground the terracotta, which are now Grade II listed.

[11] The area was exploited for its gravel and sand extraction in the twentieth century leaving numerous water-filled lakes.

In the latter year the more heavily populated eastern end of the parish, including the village of Broxbourne itself, was added to the Hoddesdon Urban District, while the rural western portion remained in Ware Rural District, forming part of the civil parish of Brickendon Liberty.

[15] As part of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, Spitalbrook was chosen as the venue for whitewater canoe and kayak slalom events.