Broach (or Broche)

Broach (Or Broche)

an old English term for a spit, and applied to a spire; still in use in some parts of the country, as in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, etc., where it is used to denote a spire springing from the tower without any intermediate parapet. SEE SPIRE. The term "to broche" seems to be also used in old building accounts, perhaps for cutting the stones in the form of voussoirs.