Municipal Borough of Bolton 1838-1889

Bolton Borough was incorporated in 1838, joining Little Bolton (more or less north-west of the River Croal) with Great Bolton (south-east of the River Croal). The first Mayor of Bolton, Charles James Darbishire, was elected the same year.

Bolton Rural Sanitary Authority and Bolton Rural District Council

Bolton Rural Sanitary Authority was constituted in 1872.

It originally comprised the townships of Bradshaw, Breightmet, Darcy Lever, Edgworth, Entwistle, Harwood, Heaton, Longworth, Lostock, Middle Hulton, Over Hulton, Quarlton, part of Rumworth (Deane), part of Sharples (Belmont), part of Tonge-with-Haulgh (Tonge).

In 1877, part of Halliwell (Smithills) was added, following the dissolution of Halliwell Local Board.

In January 1895 the Authority became a Rural District Council.

The Council was dissolved in 1898 under the Bolton, Turton and Westhoughton Extension Act. Its constituent townships were divided as follows:

To County Borough of Bolton: Breightmet, Darcy Lever, Great Lever, Lostock, Middle Hulton, part of Halliwell (Smithills), part of Over Hulton (Daubhill), part of Rumworth (Deane) and part of Tonge-with-Haugh (Tonge).

To Turton Urban District: Bradshaw, Edgworth, Entwistle, Harwood, Longworth, Quarlton, part of Sharples (Belmont)

To Westhoughton Urban District – part of Over Hulton.

Astley Bridge

The Local Board of Health for Astley Bridge was constituted in 1864. The District comprised the higher (detached) portion of Little Bolton and the lower portion of Sharples. The Board became an Urban District Council in January 1895 under the Chairmanship of Col George Hesketh but was dissolved in 1898 under the Bolton, Turton and Westhoughton Extension Act and its powers vested in Bolton County Borough Council.

Bolton Metropolitan Borough

The current borough came into existence on 1 April 1974 and currently comprises the area of the old County Borough of Bolton and the townships of FarnworthKearsleyHorwichBlackrodWesthoughtonLittle Lever and South Turton.

 

Mayors of Bolton 1838-2022

 

Mayors of the Municipal Borough of Bolton

1838   Charles James Darbishire 1839   Robert Heywood 1840   James Arrowsmith 1841   Thomas Cullen 1842   Robert Walsh 1843   Thomas Gregson 1844   John Slater 1845   Stephen Blair 1846   James Scowcroft 1847   Thomas Ridgway Bridson 1848   Thomas Lever Rushton 1849   Thomas Lever Rushton 1850   William Gray 1851   William Gray 1852   John Stones 1853   Peter Rothwell Arrowsmith 1854   Peter Rothwell Arrowsmith 1855   James Knowles 1856   James Knowles 1857   William Makant 1858   William Makant 1859   John Orton 1860   John Harwood 1861   James Rawsthorne Wolfenden 1862   James Rawsthorne Wolfenden 1863   Richard Harwood 1864   Richard Stockdale 1865   Richard Stockdale 1866   Fergus Ferguson 1867   James Barlow 1868   James Barlow 1869   Thomas Walmsley 1870   Thomas Walmsley 1871   William Walter Cannon 1872   William Walter Cannon 1873   Jeremiah Marsden 1874   Jeremiah Marsden 1875   Charles Wolfenden 1876   Charles Wolfenden 1877   James Greenhalgh 1878   Peter Crook Marsden 1879   Henry Marriott Richardson 1880   Joseph Musgrave 1881   Thomas Glaister 1882   Ebenezer Green Harwood 1883   Ebenezer Green Harwood 1884   Thomas Fletcher 1885   Thomas Fletcher 1886   Thomas Fletcher 1887   Thomas Moscrop 1888   John Barrett

Mayors of the County Borough of Bolton

1889   John Barrett 1890   Matthew Fielding 1891   William Nicholson 1892   William Nicholson 1893   William Nicholson 1894   Benjamin Alfred Dobson 1895   Benjamin Alfred Dobson 1896   Benjamin Alfred Dobson 1897   Benjamin Alfred Dobson (Died in office) 1898   William Nicholson 1899   John Edwin Scowcroft 1900   John Edwin Scowcroft (Died in office) 1901   William Nicholson 1901   John Miles 1902   John Miles 1903   John Heywood 1904   John Heywood 1905   George Hesketh 1906   Thomas Barlow Tong 1907   Thomas Barlow Tong 1908   William Henry Brown 1909   Joseph Tyas Cooper 1910   Joseph Tyas Cooper 1911   James Young 1912   James Young 1913   John Turner Brooks 1914   James Seddon 1915   James Seddon 1916   Knowles Edge 1917   Knowles Edge 1918   Lord Leverhulme 1919   Robert Parkinson 1920   Robert Parkinson 1921   William Russell 1922   Alfred Potts 1923   Edmund Aspinall 1924   John Fletcher Steele 1925   Percy Knott 1926   Thomas Evans Flitcroft 1927   Thomas Evans Flitcroft 1928   Frank Cheadle 1929   Robert Edward Roberts 1930   Henry Warburton 1931   George Sykes 1932   Samuel Lomax 1933   Ernest Monks 1934   John Percy Taylor 1935   Benjamin Kirkman 1936   James Alfred Russell 1937   Thomas Halstead 1938   James Entwistle 1939   Charles Harold Beswick 1940   Walter Wharton Tong 1941   Alfred Booth 1942   James Bleakley 1943   Fred Bentley 1944   Walter Bradley 1945   Robert Demaine 1946   Horace Wilfred Taylor 1947   John Henry Hampson 1948   John Henry Hampson 1949   Thomas Glaister 1950   Helen Wright 1951   Thomas Parry Dunning 1952   James Vickers 1953   James Parkes 1954   Peter Flanagan 1955   Stanley Entwistle 1956   Peter Lowe 1957   Frank Young 1958   Elizabeth Ann Ashmore 1959   Edwin Taylor 1960   James Gradwell 1961   William Harold Bateson 1962   John Arthur Childs 1963   Thomas Connor 1964   Harry Wood 1965   Charles Henry Lucas 1966   Nora Vickers 1967   Clarence Leat 1968   Ethel Maisie Ryley 1969   Herbert Glynn 1970   John Richard Monks 1971   Arnold Townend 1972   Alan Ellis Clarke 1973   Henry Devenish

Transitional Mayor & Chairman

1974   John Collins Hanscomb

Mayors of Bolton Metropolitan Borough

1974   Doris Berry 1975   John Arthur Foster 1976   James Rigby 1977   Donald Stewart Clarke 1978   Adam Hibbert 1979   Elizabeth Olwen Hamer 1980   James Smith 1981   Joseph Wild 1982   John Collins Hanscomb 1983   Alan Samuel Brigg 1984   Barbara Annette Hurst 1985   William Hardman 1986   Arthur Poulsom 1987   William Arthur Robinson 1988   Brian Melvyn Allanson 1989   Kenneth MacIvor 1990   Geoffrey Smith 1991   Gerald Riley 1992   Ernest Crook 1993   Campbell Jocelyn Hargreaves Benjamin 1994   Thomas Anderton 1995   Frank Alan Rushton 1996   Eric Johnson 1997   Peter Gareth Birch 1998   Peter Louis Finch 1999   John Monaghan 2000   Alan Wilkinson 2001   Kevan James Helsby 2002   John Walsh 2003   Clifford Morris 2004   Prentice Howarth 2005   Frank Richard White 2006   Walter Hall 2007   Barbara Olwyn Ronson2008   Anthony Connell2009   Norman Andrew Critchley2010   John Byrne2011   Noel Anthony Spencer2012   Guy Harkin2013   Colin Shaw2014   Martin Donaghy2015   Carole Ruth Swarbrick2016   Lynda Byrne2017   Roger Hayes2018   Elaine Sherrington2019   Hilary Constance Fairclough2020   Linda Thomas 2022   Akhtar Zaman2023   Mohammed Ayub