Turton Urban District

Turton Urban District was, from 1873 to 1974, a local government district centred on the historical area of Turton in the administrative county of Lancashire, England.

Turton Urban District
Turton Tower
Area
• 1911	17,335 acres (70.15 km2)[1]
• 1961	17,334 acres (70.15 km2)[1]
Area transferred
• 1898	Belmont, Bradshaw, Edgworth, Entwistle, Harwood, Longworth, and Quarlton from Bolton Rural District
Population
• 1891	6,354
• 1971	21,553
History
• Created	1873
• Abolished	1974
• Succeeded by	North Turton, South Turton
Status	Local board (1873–1895) Urban district (1895–1974)
• HQ	Turton Tower

History

Background

Main article: Turton, Lancashire

Turton was a township and chapelry of the civil and ecclesiastical parish of Bolton le Moors in the Salford Hundred of Lancashire.^[2] In 1837, Turton became part of the Bolton Poor Law Union which took responsibility for funding the Poor Law within that Union area.^[3] In 1866, Turton was given the status of a civil parish.^[4]

Formation

A resolution for the adoption of the Local Government Act 1858 was passed on 8 August 1872 by the owners and ratepayers of the township of Turton,^[5] and the following year a local board was formed to govern the area.^[6] After the Public Health Act 1875 was passed by Parliament in that year, Turton Local Board assumed extra duties as an urban sanitary district, although the Local Board's title did not change.^[7]

Change

In 1895, following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1894, Turton Local Board was reconstituted as an elected urban district council of twenty-one members.^[6] Four years later, under the Bolton, Turton and Westhoughton Extension Act 1898, Turton Urban District was greatly enlarged by the addition of the civil parishes of Belmont, Bradshaw, Harwood, Longworth, Entwistle, Edgworth and Quarlton from the former Bolton Rural District, which almost doubled the Urban District's population.^[6] The Urban District Council had seven electoral wards: Chapeltown, Bromley Cross, Eagley, Egerton, Bradshaw, Edgworth, and Belmont wards, each represented by three councillors.^[8] Following the death of Sir Lees Knowles, 1st Baronet, in 1929, his widow, Lady Nina Knowles, presented Turton Tower to the Urban District Council in 1930, which became the council's seat of local government. Between 1961 and 1971, Bradshaw ward was divided into Bradshaw North and Bradshaw South.^[8]

Abolition

Under the Local Government Act 1972, Turton Urban District was abolished on 1 April 1974 and its former area was divided between two local authorities.^[9] The larger rural area, North Turton, became a civil parish of the Borough of Blackburn in Lancashire.^[9][10] The smaller urban area, South Turton, became an unparished area of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester.^[9]

Demography

Population changes of Turton, 1891–1971

Year Population ±% 1891 6,354 —     1901 12,355 +94.4% 1911 12,648 +2.4%	Year Population ±% 1921 12,154 −3.9% 1931 11,847 −2.5% 1939 12,173 +2.8%	Year Population ±% 1951 10,956 −10.0% 1961 13,698 +25.0% 1971 21,553 +57.3%
Sources: Urban Sanitary District (USD) 1891.[11] Urban District (UD) 1901–1971.[8][12][13]

Lists of office holders

Chairmen of Turton Local Board

Chairmen of Turton Local Board
Name		Party	Tenure	Notes
	Edmund Ashworth	Liberal	1873–1880
	James Booth	—	1880–1882
	Edmund Ashworth, jnr	—	1882–1886
	Thomas Gustav Schwabe Garnett	Conservative	1886–1889	Afterwards became Chairman of Turton Urban District Council (1895–1900)
	William Wallwork	—	1889–1892
	Robert Ashworth	Independent	1892–1895	Afterwards became Chairman of Turton Urban District Council (1908–1924)
Source(s):[14]

Chairmen of Turton Urban District Council

Chairmen of Turton Urban District Council
Name		Party	Tenure	Notes
	Thomas Gustav Schwabe Garnett	Conservative	1895–1900	Previously Chairman of Turton Local Board of Health (1886–1889)
	Samuel Isherwood	—	1900–1901
	Thomas Hardcastle	—	1901–1902
	Edward Deakin	—	1902–1908
	Robert Ashworth	Independent	1908–1924	Previously Chairman of Turton Local Board of Health (1892–1895)
	George Harry Ashworth	Independent	1924–1926	1st term
	Ernest William Greg	—	1926–1927
	Thomas Lomax	Conservative	1928–1930	1st term
	Sydney Herbert Spring	Independent	1930–1931
	Walter Harry Wadhams	Independent	1931–1934
	Jethro Haslam	—	1934	Died in office
	James Platt	Independent	1934–1937
	Alfred Ruckman Hutchinson	Independent	1937–1938
	Robert Catterall	Conservative	1938–1939	1st term
	John William Rostron	—	1939–1940
	George Harry Ashworth	Independent	1940–1941	2nd term
	John Hamer	—	1941–1942
	Richard Shelmerdine	Liberal	1942–1943
	William Meredith	—	1943–1944
	George Harry Ashworth	Independent	1944–1945	3rd term
	Thomas Lomax	Conservative	1945–1946	2nd term
	Harold Kirk	—	1946–1947	1st term
	Samuel Benson	Conservative	1947–1948
	William Knowles	—	1948–1949	1st term
	West Scowcroft	Independent	1949–1950
	Robinson Walsh	—	1950–1951
	Francis William Stilwell	Conservative	1951–1952
	Robert Catterall	Conservative	1952–1953	2nd term
	Arthur Shelmerdine	Independent	1953–1954
	Harold Kirk	—	1954–1955	2nd term
	Robert Catterall	Conservative	1955–1956	3rd term
	Andrew Thompson Jardine	Independent	1956–1957
	William Knowles	—	1957–1958	2nd term
	Harold Kirk	—	1958–1959	3rd term
	Hilbre Henry Smith	Independent	1959–1960
	Charles Halliday	Conservative	1960–1961
	Hilda Gregory	Conservative	1961–1962
	Herbert Bennett	Conservative	1962–1963	1st term
	Michael Constantine Cort	Conservative	1963–1964
	Herbert Carlisle Walsh	Conservative	1964–1965
	David Dingwall	Labour	1965–1966
	John Alston	Independent	1966–1967
	Herbert Hutchinson	—	1967–1968
	Joseph Jagger	Liberal	1968–1969
	Philip Stefan Linney	Liberal	1969–1970
	Leonard Ibbotson	Conservative	1970–1971
	Keith Crook Richardson	Independent	1971–1972
	Arthur Poulsom	Conservative	1972–1973
	Herbert Bennett	Conservative	1973–1974	2nd term
Source(s):[14]

Notes

1. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Turton UD: Area (acres)". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
2. Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1911). "The parish of Bolton-le-Moors". A History of the County of Lancaster. Vol. 5. British History Online. pp. 235–243. Retrieved 27 July 2016. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
3. Higginbotham, Peter. "The Workhouse: Bolton, Lancashire". The Workhouse: The story of an institution... Retrieved 27 July 2016.
4. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Status details for Civil Parish". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
5. "No. 23965". The London Gazette. 8 April 1873. p. 1874.
6. Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1911). "Townships: Turton". A History of the County of Lancaster. Vol. 5. British History Online. pp. 273–281. Retrieved 24 August 2010. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
7. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Turton USD: Relationships and changes". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
8. Tatton, Pauline. Local population statistics 1801–1986: abbreviated tables compiled from census statistics for Bolton. Bolton Libraries.
9. "Greater Manchester Gazetteer". Greater Manchester County Record Office. Place names – T to W. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
10. "North Turton Parish Council". Retrieved 27 July 2016.
11. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Turton USD: Males & Females". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
12. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Turton UD: Total Population". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
13. The 1939 population is estimated from the number of identity cards issued to the inhabitants of Turton in that year, which were required under the National Registration Act 1939. The 1941 census did not take place because of the Second World War.
14. Links in a Chain Project. "Turton 1873–1974". Links in a Chain. Retrieved 27 July 2016.

53.6313°N 2.4018°W / 53.6313; -2.4018