County Borough of Bolton

Bolton was, from 1838 to 1974, a local government district in the northwest of England conterminate with the town of Bolton. Bolton was created a free borough in 1253 when William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby, granted a charter. However, the borough did not develop into a self-governing town, remaining under the control of officials appointed by the lord of the manor. By the eighteenth century the town was rapidly expanding and the Bolton Improvement Act 1792 established two local government bodies for the area: the Great Bolton Improvement Trustees, and the Police Commissioners for the Township of Little Bolton. In 1838, under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, the townships of Great Bolton and Little Bolton, along with the Haulgh area from Tonge with Haulgh township, were incorporated as a Municipal Borough, making it the second to be created in England (after Devonport). However, there was doubt about the validity of the Charter, with the local Conservatives refusing to stand for the first Council elections, and the magistrates of Salford Hundred disputing the jurisdiction of the new corporation. The first elections to the town Council were uncontested, with Whigs and Radicals holding all seats. The council was highly supportive of The People's Charter. The legality of the Charter (as well as those of Devonport, Birmingham and Manchester) was resolved by the Borough Charters Confirmation Act 1842. The Act forced the new municipality to compensate the officers of the old Corporation. The first contested elections were held in November 1842 and Conservatives gained control in 1844. In 1850 the Borough Corporation took over the Great Bolton and Little Bolton trusts established in 1792. In 1889, as it had a population in excess of 50,000, Bolton was constituted a County Borough by the Local Government Act 1888. As a County Borough, Bolton was independent of the administration of Lancashire County Council, although it remained part of the county for judicial, shrievalty and lieutenancy purposes.