Municipal Borough of Farnworth

Summary

The Municipal Borough of Farnworth was a local government district centred on the town of Farnworth in the administrative county of Lancashire, England. A local board of health had been established for Farnworth in 1863, which was reconstituted as an urban district in 1899, before being granted a charter of incorporation to become a municipal borough in 1939. Following abolition of the local authority in 1974, Farnworth became an unparished area of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester.

Municipal Borough of Farnworth
Area
 • 19111,504 acres (6.1 km2)[1]
 • 19611,503 acres (6.1 km2)[1]
Population
 • 190125,925
 • 197128,862
History
 • Created1863
 • Abolished1974
 • Succeeded byMetropolitan Borough of Bolton
Status
Government
 • HQFarnworth Town Hall
 • MottoLatin: Juste Nec Timide (Be just and fear not)[2]

History edit

Lying within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire since the early 12th century, Farnworth constituted a township in the civil and ecclesiastical parish of Deane.[3][4] In 1837, Farnworth became part of the Bolton Poor Law Union which took responsibility for funding the Poor Law in that Union area.[5]

Under the Local Government Act 1858, a local board of health was adopted for the township of Farnworth in 1863.[6] In 1866, Farnworth was also given the status of a civil parish.[7] After the Public Health Act 1875 was passed by Parliament in that year, Farnworth Local Board of Health assumed extra duties as an urban sanitary district, although the Local Board's title did not change.[8]

In 1899, following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1894, Farnworth Local Board was reconstituted as an elected urban district council of eighteen members.[9] Farnworth Urban District Council had six electoral wards, each denoted by points of the compass (North, North-East, North-West, South, South-East, and South-West wards), and each represented by three councillors.[9][10] In 1939, Farnworth was granted a charter of incorporation to become a municipal borough.[11]

Under the Local Government Act 1972, the Municipal Borough of Farnworth was abolished on 1 April 1974 and its former area was transferred to Greater Manchester to become an unparished area of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton.[4]

Demography edit

Population changes of Farnworth, 1891–1971
YearPopulation±%
1891 23,758—    
1901 25,925+9.1%
1911 28,131+8.5%
YearPopulation±%
1921 27,894−0.8%
1931 28,717+3.0%
1939 27,376−4.7%
YearPopulation±%
1951 28,616+4.5%
1961 27,502−3.9%
1971 28,855+4.9%
Sources: Urban Sanitary District (USD) 1891.[10][12] Urban District (UD) and Municipal Borough (MB) 1901–1971.[10][13]

Lists of office holders edit

Chairmen of Farnworth Local Board edit

Chairmen of Farnworth Local Board, 1863–1899
Name Party Tenure Notes
Alfred Barnes Liberal
1863–1867
1st term
David Crossley Liberal
1867–1868
John Hindley Conservative
1868–1869
Alfred Topp Liberal
1869–1870
1st term
William Barton Whittam
1870–1872
1st term
John Greenhalgh
1872–1875
Alfred Topp Liberal
1875–1878
2nd term. Afterwards was Chairman of Farnworth Urban District Council (1901–1904)
Alfred Barnes Liberal
1878–1880
2nd term
William Barton Whittam
1880–1881
2nd term
James Nuttall Liberal
1881–1885
Joseph Winter Liberal
1885–1886
George Foster Liberal
1886–1887
John Clelland Clarke Liberal
1888–1894
Nathaniel Nicholson Conservative
1895–1897
Thomas Ivers Liberal
1897–1899
Source(s):[11]

Chairmen of Farnworth Urban District Council edit

Chairmen of Farnworth Urban District Council, 1899–1939
Name Party Tenure Notes
William Sumner
1899–1901
Alfred Topp Liberal
1901–1904
Previously Chairman of Farnworth Local Board (1869–1870, and 1875–1878)
Thomas Ivers Liberal
1904–1906
Thomas Stanley Conservative
1906–1909
Frederick Whittaker Conservative
1909–1912
Charles Young Conservative
1912–1914
William Boyes Richardson Liberal
1914–1915
James Stones Conservative
1915–1919
John Chadwick Conservative
1919–1921
Charles Strathnairn Jackson Labour
1921–1923
Richard Henry Cunliffe Liberal
1923–1925
Thomas White Conservative
1925–1926
Walter Robert Winter Labour
1926–1928
Harry Barnes Labour
1928–1930
The Rev. John Wilcockson Labour
1930–1932
Afterwards was Mayor of Farnworth (1939–1940)
George Tomlinson Labour
1932–1933
Afterwards was Member of Parliament for Farnworth (1938–1952)
James Stevenson Labour
1934–1936
Afterwards was Mayor of Farnworth (1940–1941)
Samuel Taylor Liberal
1936–1937
Alfred Jones Labour
1938–1939
Afterwards was Mayor of Farnworth (1941–1942)
Source(s):[11]

Mayors of the Municipal Borough of Farnworth edit

Mayors of the Municipal Borough of Farnworth, 1939–1974
Name Party Tenure Notes
The Rev. John Wilcockson Labour
1939–1940
Previously Chairman of Farnworth Urban District (1930–1932)
James Stevenson, JP Labour
1940–1941
Alfred Jones, JP, OBE Labour
1941–1942
Previously Chairman of Farnworth Urban District (1938–1939)
William McManus Labour
1942–1943
John Heathcoate Labour
1943–1944
Jesse Seddon, JP, MC Conservative
1944–1945
Richard Ralphson Labour
1945–1946
Harold Greenwood Holland Labour
1946–1947
James Alfred Dean Labour
1947–1949
William Welsby Labour
1949–1950
John Brooks Labour
1950–1951
George Henry Wilson Liberal
1951–1952
Richard Matthews Labour
1952–1953
Harold Armitage Labour
1953–1954
Robert Neary, JP Labour
1954–1955
James Melville White Labour
1955–1956
James Wilfred Geere Labour
1956–1957
John Glanville Seddon Labour
1957–1958
George Benyon Labour
1958–1959
John Higgins Labour
1959–1960
Albert Samuel Royse, JP, MBE Conservative
1960–1961
Herbert Brindle Labour
1961–1962
Philip Smith Labour
1962–1963
Phillip Norfield Labour
1963–1964
Sydney Stout Labour
1964–1965
George Kenyon Brown Labour
1965–1966
Norman Topping Labour
1966–1967
Charles Brendan Callaghan Labour
1967–1968
Lawrence Francis Cunliffe Labour
1968–1969
Joseph Wild Labour
1969–1970
Leonard Haslam Labour
1970–1971
William Hardman Labour
1971–1972
Elizabeth Brown Labour
1972–1973
Joseph Kenneth Flanagan Labour
1973–1974
Source(s):[11]

Neighbouring districts edit

The Municipal Borough of Farnworth was surrounded to the north and west by the County Borough of Bolton, to the northeast by Little Lever Urban District, to the southeast by Kearsley Urban District, and to the south by Little Hulton Urban District until 1933, then by Worsley Urban District.

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Farnworth UD/MB: Area (acres)". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  2. ^ Young, Robert. "Pre-1974 Civic Heraldry of Lancashire". Civic Heraldry of England and Wales. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  3. ^ Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1911). "Salford hundred: The parish of Deane". A History of the County of Lancaster. Vol. 5. British History Online. pp. 1–5. Retrieved 9 August 2016. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. ^ a b "Greater Manchester Gazetteer". Greater Manchester County Record Office. Place names - D to F. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  5. ^ Higginbotham, Peter. "The Workhouse: Bolton, Lancashire". The Workhouse: The story of an institution... Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  6. ^ Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Farnworth USD: Relationships and changes". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  7. ^ Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Farnworth CP/Ch: Relationships and changes". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  8. ^ Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Farnworth USD: Relationships and changes". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  9. ^ a b Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1911). "Townships: Farnworth". A History of the County of Lancaster. Vol. 5. British History Online. pp. 34–39. Retrieved 9 August 2016. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  10. ^ a b c Tatton, Pauline. Local population statistics 1801–1986: abbreviated tables compiled from census statistics for Bolton. Bolton Libraries.
  11. ^ a b c d Links in a Chain Project. "Farnworth 1863-1974". Links in a Chain. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
  12. ^ Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Farnworth USD: Males & Females". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  13. ^ Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Farnworth UD/MB: Total Population". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 12 May 2008.

External links edit

  • Boundary Map of Farnworth UD/MB

53°32′43″N 2°24′00″W / 53.5452°N 2.3999°W / 53.5452; -2.3999