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 Farnworth, Kearsley, Horwich, Blackrod, Westhoughton, Little Lever and South Turton.
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
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
CONSERVATIVE
LABOUR
LIBERAL / LIBERAL DEMOCRAT