Boroughs incorporated in England and Wales 1882 - 1974
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The following is a list of towns in England and Wales which were granted charters of incorporation conferring borough status under the Municipal Corporations Act 1882.
Contents |
[edit] 1882 - 1889
Forty-six boroughs were incorporated in this period. Of this number, more than half (twenty-five) were unreformed boroughs listed in the schedule to the Municipal Corporations Act 1883. This act abolished all such boroughs unless they obtained a new charter by 1886. Among the remaining 21 boroughs most were industrial centres or resorts. Also incorporated were two county towns: Chelmsford and Taunton, and two areas of suburban London, Croydon and West Ham.
† Listed in the schedule of the Municipal Corporations Act 1883.
[edit] 1890 - 1899
Twenty-four boroughs were incorporated in 1890s.
|
Borough |
County at Incorporation |
Year of Incorporation |
|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth | Hampshire | 1890 |
| Chatham | Kent | 1890 |
| Nelson | Lancashire | 1890 |
| Ossett | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1890 |
| Richmond | Surrey | 1890 |
| Worthing | West Sussex | 1890 |
| Haslingden | Lancashire | 1891 |
| Mansfield | Nottinghamshire | 1891 |
| Rawtenstall | Lancashire | 1891 |
| Eccles | Lancashire | 1892 |
| Southend on Sea | Essex | 1892 |
| Thornaby-on-Tees | North Riding of Yorkshire | 1892 |
| Torquay | Devon | 1892 |
| Widnes | Lancashire | 1892 |
| Brighouse | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1893 |
| Whitehaven | Cumberland | 1894 |
| Colne | Lancashire | 1895 |
| Todmorden | Lancashire and West Riding of Yorkshire | 1896 |
| Hemel Hempstead | Hertfordshire | 1898 |
| Hove | East Sussex | 1898 |
| Abergavenny | Monmouthshire | 1899 |
| Bridlington | East Riding of Yorkshire | 1899 |
| Dukinfield | Cheshire | 1899 |
| Smethwick | Staffordshire | 1899 |
[edit] 1900 - 1909
There were 13 incorporations in the years 1900 - 1909. 1900 also saw the creation of 28 Metropolitan Boroughs in the County of London by the London Government Act 1899.
|
Borough |
County at Incorporation |
Year of Incorporation |
|---|---|---|
| Pudsey | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1900 |
| Swindon | Wiltshire | 1900 |
| Ealing | Middlesex | 1901 |
| Wallsend | Northumberland | 1901 |
| Bexhill | East Sussex | 1902 |
| Morecambe | Lancashire | 1902 |
| Aston Manor | Warwickshire | 1903 |
| Bromley | Kent | 1903 |
| Gillingham | Kent | 1903 |
| Hornsey | Middlesex | 1903 |
| East Ham | Essex | 1904 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | Glamorgan | 1905 |
| Wimbledon | Surrey | 1905 |
| Nuneaton | Warwickshire | 1907 |
[edit] 1910 - 1919
There were only seven incorporations in this period. In fact, the number of boroughs only increased by one, as six boroughs were abolished. Stoke on Trent was an amalgam of four boroughs: Burslem, Hanley, Longton and Stoke upon Trent (and two urban districts); Aston Manor was absorbed by Birmingham in 1911; and Devonport by Plymouth in 1914.
|
Borough |
County at Incorporation |
Year of Incorporation |
|---|---|---|
| Stoke-on-Trent | Staffordshire (County Borough) | 1910 |
| Wallasey | Cheshire | 1910 |
| Fowey | Cornwall | 1913 |
| Llanelly | Carmarthenshire | 1913 |
| Stourbridge | Worcestershire | 1914 |
| Aylesbury | Buckinghamshire | 1917 |
| Buxton | Derbyshire | 1917 |
[edit] 1920 - 1929
Eleven boroughs were incorporated in the 1920s. This only represented a net increase of ten, however as Port Talbot was formed from the merger of the borough of Aberavon and the urban district of Margam.
|
Borough |
County at Incorporation |
Year of Incorporation |
|---|---|---|
| Acton | Middlesex | 1921 |
| Port Talbot | Glamorgan | 1921 |
| Redcar | North Riding of Yorkshire | 1921 |
| Aldershot | Hampshire | 1922 |
| Blyth | Northumberland | 1922 |
| Gosport | Hampshire | 1922 |
| Lytham St. Annes | Lancashire | 1922 |
| Watford | Hertfordshire | 1922 |
| Ilford | Essex | 1926 |
| Leyton | Essex | 1926 |
| Twickenham | Middlesex | 1926 |
| Walthamstow | Essex | 1926 |
[edit] 1930 - 1939
There were fifty-three incorporations of boroughs in this period.
[edit] 1954 - 1955
No boroughs were created from 1939 to 1954. Nine towns were incorporated in the years 1954 and 1955.
|
Borough |
County at Incorporation |
Year of Incorporation |
|---|---|---|
| Harrow | Middlesex | 1954 |
| Solihull | Warwickshire | 1954 |
| Whitley Bay | Northumberland | 1954 |
| Castleford | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1955 |
| Ellesmere Port | Cheshire | 1955 |
| Enfield | Middlesex | 1955 |
| Rhondda | Glamorgan | 1955 |
| Spenborough | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1955 |
| Uxbridge | Middlesex | 1955 |
[edit] Unsuccessful Petitions for Incorporation
In order for a town to be incorporated as a borough, a petition was submitted to the Privy Council for consideration. Although the majority of petitions were successful, a number of applications were not. Petitions seeking incorporation were recorded in the London Gazette, and the following is a list of petitions listed in the Gazette in the period 1882 to 1955 that did not lead to the grant of a charter:[1]
| Urban district | County | Gazette Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castleford | Yorkshire, West Riding | January 31, 1893 | Gained incorporation in 1955 |
| Brentford | Middlesex | March 17, 1893 | Gained incorporation as Brentford and Chiswick in 1932 |
| Ealing | Middlesex | March 17, 1893 | |
| Aylesbury | Buckinghamshire | May 19, 1893 | Gained incorporation in 1917 |
| Llandudno | Caernarvonshire | June 27, 1893 | |
| Westminster (Parish of St Margaret and St John) |
County of London | January 19, 1897 | Became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster in 1900 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | Glamorgan | May 21, 1897 | Gained incorporation in 1905 |
| Cleethorpes | Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey | July 9, 1897 | Gained incorporation in 1936 |
| Kensington | County of London | July 9, 1897 | Became a Metropolitan borough in 1900 |
| Cleckheaton | Yorkshire, West Riding | October 13, 1897 | |
| Heckmondwike | Yorkshire, West Riding | October 13, 1897 | |
| Liversedge | Yorkshire, West Riding | October 15, 1897 | |
| Shipley | Yorkshire, West Riding | May 20, 1898 | |
| Ealing | Middlesex | August 12, 1898 | Second petition. Gained incorporation in 1901 |
| Leyton | Essex | October 21, 1898 | Gained incorporation in 1926 |
| Chiswick | Middlesex | May 15, 1900 | Gained incorporation as Brentford and Chiswick in 1932 |
| Stretford | Lancashire | March 25, 1902 | Gained incorporation in 1933 |
| Wood Green | Middlesex | October 20, 1908 | Gained incorporation in 1933 |
| UDs of Eston, South Bank in Normanby and the parish of Normanby | Yorkshire, North Riding | February 21, 1912 | |
| Hebburn | Durham | January 17, 1912 | |
| Hebburn | Durham | December 18, 1925 | Second petition |
| Eston | Yorkshire, North Riding | December 18, 1925 | Second petition |
| Pontypridd | Glamorgan | December 18, 1925 | |
| Hoylake and West Kirby | Cheshire | December 18, 1925 | |
| Cannock | Staffordshire | November 16, 1934 | |
| Penge | Kent | February 27, 1934 | |
| Newton-in-Makerfield | Lancashire | October 10, 1933 | |
| Harrow | Middlesex | November 19, 1935 | Gained incorporation in 1954 |
| Woking | Surrey | April 10, 1936 | |
| Coseley | Staffordshire | August 20, 1937 | |
| Carshalton | Surrey | October 15, 1937 | |
| Coulsdon and Purley | Surrey | February 1, 1938 | |
| Bingley | Yorkshire, West Riding | June 14, 1938 | |
| Huyton-with-Roby | Lancashire | November 23, 1951 | |
| Brierley Hill | Staffordshire | February 26, 1952 | |
| Staines | Middlesex | April 21, 1952 | |
| Haltemprice | Yorkshire, East Riding | April 8, 1952 | |
| Bognor Regis | West Sussex | May 27, 1952 | |
| Hinckley | Leicestershire | August 22, 1952 | |
| Willenhall | Staffordshire | September 26, 1952 | |
| Long Eaton | Derbyshire | September 2, 1952 | |
| Beeston and Stapleford | Nottinghamshire | January 6, 1953 | |
| Colne Valley | Yorkshire, West Riding | January 27, 1953 | |
| Ruislip-Northwood | Middlesex | February 24, 1953 | |
| Farnborough | Hampshire | April 21, 1953 | |
| Leek | Staffordshire | May 22, 1953 | |
| Malvern | Worcestershire | June 23, 1953 | |
| Urmston | Lancashire | June 30, 1953 | |
| Friern Barnet | Middlesex | July 3, 1953 | |
| Carshalton | Surrey | August 25, 1953 | Second petition |
| Cannock | Staffordshire | September 11, 1953 | Second petition |
| Hayes and Harlington | Middlesex | March 2, 1954 | |
| Sutton-in-Ashfield | Nottinghamshire | March 9, 1954 | |
| Paingnton | Devon | May 21, 1954 | |
| Pontypridd | Glamorgan | July 16, 1954 | Second petition |
| Cheadle and Gatley | Cheshire | February 15, 1955 | |
| Hornchurch | Essex | May 20, 1955 | |
| Farnham | Surrey | November 25, 1955 | |
| Woking | Surrey | December 13, 1955 | Second petition |
The 1955 petition by Woking was the last application prior to reorganisation of local government in 1965 and 1974.
[edit] 1956 - 1974
The only new municipal boroughs were created by amalgamation of existing corporations in this period. In fact there was a decrease in the number of municipalities as various local government changes were made.
- In 1961 the boroughs of Huntingdon and Godmanchester were merged.
- In 1965 forty-two boroughs were abolished when they were constituted part of Greater London. These were: Acton, Barking, Barnes, Beckenham, Beddington and Wallington, Bexley, Brentford and Chiswick, Bromley, Chingford, Croydon, Dagenham, Ealing, East Ham, Edmonton, Enfield, Erith, Finchley, Harrow, Hendon, Heston and Isleworth, Hornsey, Ilford, Kingston-upon-Thames, Leyton, Malden and Coombe, Mitcham, Richmond (Surrey), Romford, Southall, Southgate, Surbiton, Sutton and Cheam, Tottenham, Twickenham, Uxbridge, Walthamstow, Wanstead and Woodford, Wembley, West Ham, Willesden, Wimbledon and Wood Green.
- In 1966 six boroughs in the Black Country were abolished: Bilston, Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, Tipton, Wednesbury, while the new county borough of Warley was created.
- In 1967 the borough of Torquay was absorbed by the new county borough of Torbay, while six boroughs were merged with rural districts to become "rural boroughs". The boroughs involved were Bishop's Castle, Bridgnorth, Lostwithiel, Ludlow, Much Wenlock and Oswestry. The county borough of West Hartlepool merged with the non-county borough of Hartlepool to form a new county borough of Hartlepool.
- In 1968 Queenborough became part of the larger borough of Queenborough-in-Sheppey, and Fowey part of the borough of St. Austell with Fowey. The new county borough of Teesside absorbed the four boroughs of Middlesbrough, Redcar, Stockton-on-Tees and Thornaby-on-Tees. The borough of South Molton was also absorbed into the rural district of the same name.
