The village name is Old English and means village by the brook. In former times, the Northampton to London turnpike came through the village (to join Watling Street (modern A5) near Woburn). The modern route, the M1 motorway is very near, with Junction 14 just a few minutes away. Meanwhile the section of the old turnpike past the village is now part of the A5130. The road through the village, named 'London Road' and formerly part of the A5130 was bypassed in the early 1970s, the newer route running between it and the new MK district of Brook Furlong.