BOROUGHS INCORPORATED IN ENGLAND AND WALES 1882 - 1974

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
1882 - 1889
1890 - 1899
1900 - 1909
1910 - 1919
1920 - 1929
1930 - 1939
1954 - 1955
Unsuccessful Petitions for Incorporation
1956 - 1974
References

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.
Borough County at Incorporation Year of Incorporation
BacupLancashire1882
KeighleyYorkshire1882
West BromwichStaffordshire1882
BangorCarnarvonshire1883
CroydonSurrey1883
EastbourneSussex1883
Henley-on-ThamesOxfordshire1883
WorkingtonCumberland1883
HarrogateYorkshire1884
LampeterCardiganshire1884
RamsgateKent1884
AldeburghSuffolk1884
ApplebyWestmorland1885
Bishop's CastleShropshire1885
ConwayCarnarvonshire1885
KidwellyCarmarthenshire1885
LlanfyllinMontgomeryshire1885
LostwithielCornwall1885
LowestoftSuffolk1885
LyddKent1885
MontgomeryMontgomeryshire1885
MorleyYorkshire1885
MossleyCheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire1885
New RomneyKent1885
OkehamptonDevon1885
QueenboroughKent1885
SaltashCornwall1885
Sutton Coldfield (Royal Town) †Warwickshire1885
TauntonSomerset1885
WiltonWiltshire1885
WokinghamBerkshire1885
BrackleyNorthamptonshire1886
ChristchurchHampshire1886
Higham FerrersNorthamptonshire1886
MalmesburyWiltshire1886
MiddletonLancashire1886
WarehamDorset1886
WednesburyStaffordshire1886
West HamEssex1886
WoodstockOxfordshire1886
CowbridgeGlamorgan1887
IlkestonDerbyshire1887
West HartlepoolCounty Durham1887
ChelmsfordEssex1888
LoughboroughLeicestershire1888
Tunbridge WellsKent1888

† Listed in the schedule of the Municipal Corporations Act 1883.

1890 - 1899


Twenty-four boroughs were incorporated in 1890s.
Borough County at Incorporation Year of Incorporation
BournemouthHampshire1890
ChathamKent1890
NelsonLancashire1890
OssettWest Riding of Yorkshire1890
RichmondSurrey1890
WorthingWest Sussex1890
HaslingdenLancashire1891
MansfieldNottinghamshire1891
RawtenstallLancashire1891
EcclesLancashire1892
Southend on SeaEssex1892
Thornaby-on-TeesNorth Riding of Yorkshire1892
TorquayDevon1892
WidnesLancashire1892
BrighouseWest Riding of Yorkshire1893
WhitehavenCumberland1894
ColneLancashire1895
TodmordenLancashire and West Riding of Yorkshire1896
Hemel HempsteadHertfordshire1898
HoveEast Sussex1898
AbergavennyMonmouthshire1899
BridlingtonEast Riding of Yorkshire1899
DukinfieldCheshire1899
SmethwickStaffordshire1899

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
PudseyWest Riding of Yorkshire1900
SwindonWiltshire1900
EalingMiddlesex1901
WallsendNorthumberland1901
BexhillEast Sussex1902
MorecambeLancashire1902
Aston ManorWarwickshire1903
BromleyKent1903
GillinghamKent1903
HornseyMiddlesex1903
East HamEssex1904
Merthyr TydfilGlamorgan1905
WimbledonSurrey1905
NuneatonWarwickshire1907

1910 - 1919


There were only six incorporations in this period. In fact, the number of boroughs created equalled those abolished as 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-TrentStaffordshire (County Borough)1910
WallaseyCheshire1910
FoweyCornwall1913
StourbridgeWorcestershire1914
AylesburyBuckinghamshire1917
BuxtonDerbyshire1917

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
ActonMiddlesex1921
Port TalbotGlamorgan1921
RedcarNorth Riding of Yorkshire1921
AldershotHampshire1922
BlythNorthumberland1922
GosportHampshire1922
Lytham St. AnnesLancashire1922
WatfordHertfordshire1922
IlfordEssex1926
LeytonEssex1926
TwickenhamMiddlesex1926
WalthamstowEssex1926

1930 - 1939


There were fifty-three incorporations of boroughs in this period.
Borough County at Incorporation Year of Incorporation
BarkingEssex1931
WorksopNottinghamshire1931
BarnesSurrey1932
Brentford and ChiswickMiddlesex1932
HendonMiddlesex1932
Heston and IsleworthMiddlesex1932
RugbyWarwickshire1932
BilstonStaffordshire1933
DartfordKent1933
FinchleyMiddlesex1933
FleetwoodLancashire1933
GooleWest Riding of Yorkshire1933
Rowley RegisStaffordshire1933
SouthgateMiddlesex1933
StretfordLancashire1933
WillesdenMiddlesex1933
Wood GreenMiddlesex1933
Colwyn BayDenbighshire1934
MitchamSurrey1934
Sutton and CheamSurrey1934
Swinton and PendleburyLancashire1934
TottenhamMiddlesex1934
BeckenhamKent1935
OldburyWarwickshire1935
RadcliffeLancashire1935
SaleCheshire1935
CleethorpesLincolnshire Parts of Lindsey1936
EastleighHampshire1936
HalesowenWorcestershire1936
Malden and CoombeSurrey1936
ScunthorpeLincolnshire Parts of Lindsey1936
SouthallMiddlesex1936
SurbitonSurrey1936
AltrinchamCheshire1937
BebingtonCheshire1937
Beddington and WallingtonSurrey1937
BexleyKent1937
CrosbyLancashire1937
EdmontonMiddlesex1937
Epsom and EwellSurrey1937
RomfordEssex1937
Wanstead and WoodfordEssex1937
WembleyMiddlesex1937
Weston-super-MareSomerset1937
ChingfordEssex1938
DagenhamEssex1938
ErithKent1938
KetteringNorthamptonshire1938
SloughBuckinghamshire1938
TiptonStaffordshire1938
BarryGlamorgan1938
FarnworthLancashire1939
PrestwichLancashire1939

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
HarrowMiddlesex1954
SolihullWarwickshire1954
Whitley BayNorthumberland1954
CastlefordWest Riding of Yorkshire1955
Ellesmere PortCheshire1955
EnfieldMiddlesex1955
RhonddaGlamorgan1955
SpenboroughWest Riding of Yorkshire1955
UxbridgeMiddlesex1955

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 DateNotes
CastlefordYorkshire, West RidingJanuary 31, 1893Gained incorporation in 1955
BrentfordMiddlesexMarch 17, 1893Gained incorporation as Brentford and Chiswick in 1932
EalingMiddlesexMarch 17, 1893
AylesburyBuckinghamshireMay 19, 1893Gained incorporation in 1917
LlandudnoCaernarvonshireJune 27, 1893
Westminster
(Parish of St Margaret and St John)
County of LondonJanuary 19, 1897Became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster in 1900
Merthyr TydfilGlamorganMay 21, 1897Gained incorporation in 1905
CleethorpesLincolnshire, Parts of LindseyJuly 9, 1897Gained incorporation in 1936
KensingtonCounty of LondonJuly 9, 1897Became a Metropolitan borough in 1900
CleckheatonYorkshire, West RidingOctober 13, 1897
HeckmondwikeYorkshire, West RidingOctober 13, 1897
LiversedgeYorkshire, West RidingOctober 15, 1897
ShipleyYorkshire, West RidingMay 20, 1898
EalingMiddlesexAugust 12, 1898Second petition. Gained incorporation in 1901
LeytonEssexOctober 21, 1898Gained incorporation in 1926
ChiswickMiddlesexMay 15, 1900Gained incorporation as Brentford and Chiswick in 1932
StretfordLancashireMarch 25, 1902Gained incorporation in 1933
Wood GreenMiddlesexOctober 20, 1908Gained incorporation in 1933
UDs of Eston, South Bank in Normanby and the parish of NormanbyYorkshire, North RidingFebruary 21, 1912
HebburnDurhamJanuary 17, 1912
HebburnDurhamDecember 18, 1925Second petition
EstonYorkshire, North RidingDecember 18, 1925Second petition
PontypriddGlamorganDecember 18, 1925
Hoylake and West KirbyCheshireDecember 18, 1925
CannockStaffordshireNovember 16, 1934
PengeKentFebruary 27, 1934
Newton-in-MakerfieldLancashireOctober 10, 1933
HarrowMiddlesexNovember 19, 1935Gained incorporation in 1954
WokingSurreyApril 10, 1936
CoseleyStaffordshireAugust 20, 1937
CarshaltonSurreyOctober 15, 1937
Coulsdon and PurleySurreyFebruary 1, 1938
BingleyYorkshire, West RidingJune 14, 1938
Huyton-with-RobyLancashireNovember 23, 1951
Brierley HillStaffordshireFebruary 26, 1952
StainesMiddlesexApril 21, 1952
HaltempriceYorkshire, East RidingApril 8, 1952
Bognor RegisWest SussexMay 27, 1952
HinckleyLeicestershireAugust 22, 1952
WillenhallStaffordshireSeptember 26, 1952
Long EatonDerbyshireSeptember 2, 1952
Beeston and StaplefordNottinghamshireJanuary 6, 1953
Colne ValleyYorkshire, West RidingJanuary 27, 1953
Ruislip-NorthwoodMiddlesexFebruary 24, 1953
FarnboroughHampshireApril 21, 1953
LeekStaffordshireMay 22, 1953
MalvernWorcestershireJune 23, 1953
UrmstonLancashireJune 30, 1953
Friern BarnetMiddlesexJuly 3, 1953
CarshaltonSurreyAugust 25, 1953Second petition
CannockStaffordshireSeptember 11, 1953Second petition
Hayes and HarlingtonMiddlesexMarch 2, 1954
Sutton-in-AshfieldNottinghamshireMarch 9, 1954
PaingntonDevonMay 21, 1954
PontypriddGlamorganJuly 16, 1954Second petition
Cheadle and GatleyCheshireFebruary 15, 1955
HornchurchEssexMay 20, 1955
FarnhamSurreyNovember 25, 1955
WokingSurreyDecember 13, 1955Second petition

The 1955 petition by Woking was the last application prior to reorganisation of local government in 1965 and 1974.

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.

References


1. London Gazette online archive[1]


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