List of mayors of Bolton

This is a list of the Mayors of Bolton in the north west of England. The office of Mayor is a ceremonial, non-political post. As the Borough's First Citizen, the Mayor serves as the civic representative at a wide range of functions and events throughout the local authority.

The Mayors of Bolton have represented three types of local government districts. The Mayors of the Municipal Borough of Bolton 1838–1889, the Mayors of the County Borough of Bolton 1889–1974, and the present Mayors of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton since 1974.^[1][2]

There was also a transitional Mayor / Chairman in 1973–1974 who saw over the dissolution of the County Borough of Bolton and the foundation of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton.^[3]

Mayors of Bolton

Municipal Borough Mayors

No.	Mayor	Party		Tenure	Terms	Notes
1	Charles James Darbishire		Liberal	1838–1839	1	b.1797 – d.1874. The first Mayor of the Municipal Borough of Bolton.
2	Robert Heywood		Liberal	1839–1840	1	b.1786 – d.1868. Father of John Heywood, Mayor of Bolton 1903–05.
3	James Arrowsmith		Liberal	1840–1841	1	b.1791 – d.1870. Father of Peter Rothwell Arrowsmith, Mayor of Bolton 1853–55.
4	Thomas Cullen		Liberal	1841–1842	1	b.1782 – d.1859.
5	Robert Walsh		Liberal	1842–1843	1	b.1791 – d.1873.
6	Thomas Gregson		Liberal	1843–1844	1	b.1795 – d.1865.
7	John Slater		Liberal	1844–1845	1	b.1798 – d.1861.
8	Stephen Blair		Conservative	1845–1846	1	b.1804 – d.1870. Conservative MP for Bolton 1848–52.
9	James Scowcroft		Conservative	1846–1847	1	b.1788 – d.1865.
10	Thomas Ridgeway Bridson		Conservative	1847–1848	1	b.1795 – d.1863.
11	Thomas Lever Rushton		Conservative	1848–1850	2	b.1811 – d.1883.
12	William Gray		Conservative	1850–1852	2	b.1814 – d.1895. Conservative MP for Bolton 1857–1874.
13	John Stones		Conservative	1852–1853	1	b.c.1804 – d.1859.
14	Peter Rothwell Arrowsmith		Liberal	1853–1855	2	b.1816 – d.1890. Son of James Arrowsmith, Mayor of Bolton 1840–41.
15	James Knowles		Liberal	1855–1857	2	b.1813 – d.1886.
16	William Makant		Liberal	1857–1859	2	b.1807 – d.1880.
17	John Orton		Liberal	1859–1860	1	b.1804 – d.1870.
18	John Harwood		Liberal	1860–1861	1	b.1802 – d.1875. Brother of Richard Harwood, Mayor of Bolton 1863–64.
19	James Rawthorne Wolfenden		Liberal	1861–1863	2	b.1811 – d.1886. Brother of Charles Wolfenden, Mayor of Bolton 1875–77.
20	Richard Harwood		Liberal	1863–1864	1	b.1802 – d.1875. Brother of John Harwood, Mayor of Bolton 1860–61, and father of George Harwood, Liberal MP for Bolton 1895–1912.
21	Richard Stockdale		Liberal	1864–1866	2	b.1809 – d.1886.
22	Dr Fergus Ferguson		Liberal	1866–1867	1	b.1805 – d.1887.
23	James Barlow		Liberal	1867–1869	2	b.1821 – d.1887.
24	Thomas Walmsley		Conservative	1869–1871	2	b.1812 – d.1890.
25	William Walter Cannon		Conservative	1871–1873	2	b.1822 – d.1903. Brother in law of Richard Stockdale, Mayor of Bolton 1864–66.
26	Jeremiah Marsden		Conservative	1873–1875	2	b.1820 – d.1877.
27	Charles Wolfenden		Conservative	1875–1877	2	b.1826 – d.1884. Brother of James Rawthorne Wolfenden, Mayor of Bolton 1861–1863.
28	James Greenhalgh		Conservative	1877–1878	1	b.1822 – d.1881.
29	Peter Crook Marsden		Conservative	1878–1879	1	b.1838 – d.1913.
30	Henry Marriott Richardson		Conservative	1879–1880	1	b.c.1816 – d.1893.
31	Joseph Musgrave		Conservative	1880–1881	1	b.1812 – d.1891.
32	Thomas Glaister		Conservative	1881–1882	1	b.1829 – d.1891. Grandfather of Thomas Glaister, Mayor of Bolton 1949–48.
33	Ebenezer Green Harwood		Conservative	1882–1884	2	b.1833 – d.1902.
34	Thomas Fletcher		Conservative	1884–1887	3	b.1832 – d.1914.
35	Thomas Moscrop		Conservative	1887–1888	1	b.1811 – d.1889.
36	John Barrett		Conservative	1888–1889	1	b.1842 – d.1908.

County Borough Mayors

No.	Mayor	Party		Tenure	Terms	Notes
1	John Barrett		Conservative	1889–1890	1	b.1842 – d.1908. The first Mayor of the County Borough of Bolton.
2	Matthew Fielding		Conservative	1890–1891	1	b.1848 – d.1915.
3	William Nicholson		Conservative	1891–1894	3	b.1825 – d.1915.
4	Lt Col. Sir Benjamin Alfred Dobson		Conservative	1894–1898	4	b.1847 – d.1898. Knighted on the 21 July 1897. Died in office.
5	William Nicholson		Conservative	1898–1899	2	b.1825 – d.1915. Acted as caretaker Mayor in 1898, and re-elected the same year.
6	John Edwin Scowcroft		Conservative	1899–1901	2	b.1845 – d.1901. Died in office.
7	William Nicholson		Conservative	1901	1	b.1825 – d.1915. Acted again as caretaker Mayor in 1901.
8	John Miles		Conservative	1901–1903	2	b.1841 – d.1917.[4][5]
9	John Heywood		Conservative	1903–1905	2	b.1849 – d.1910. Son of Robert Heywood, Mayor of Bolton 1839–40.
10	Colonel George Hesketh		Conservative	1905–1906	1	b.1853 – d.1930. Appointed High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1918.
11	Thomas Barlow Tong		Conservative	1906–1908	2	b.1850 – d.1917. Uncle of Walter Wharton Tong, Mayor of Bolton 1940–41.
12	William Henry Brown		Conservative	1908–1909	1	b.1850 – d.1931.
13	Joseph Tyas Cooper		Liberal	1909–1911	2	b.1852 – d.1929.
14	James Young		Conservative	1911–1913	2	b.1861 – d.1917.
15	John Turner Brooks		Conservative	1913–1914	1	b.1836 – d.1918.
16	James Seddon		Conservative	1914–1916	2	b.1856 – d.1923.
17	Sir Knowles Edge		Liberal	1916–1918	2	b.1854 – d.1931. Knighted on the 12 August 1919. Father of Sir William Edge, Liberal MP for Bolton 1916–23.
18	Lord Leverhulme		Independent	1918–1919	1	b.1851 – d.1925. Created Baron Leverhulme in 1917, and Viscount Leverhulme in 1922.[6] He is the only Mayor who was not a Councillor.
19	Robert Parkinson		Conservative	1919–1921	2	b.1862 – d.1936.
20	William Russell		Conservative	1921–1922	1	b.1859 – d.1937. Conservative MP for Bolton 1922–23.
21	Alfred Potts		Labour	1922–1923	1	b.1867 – d.1945.
22	Edmund Aspinall		Conservative	1923–1924	1	b.1858 – d.1940.
23	John Fletcher Steele		Liberal	1924–1925	1	b.1867 – d.1941.
24	Percy Knott		Conservative	1925–1926	1	b.1865 – d.1943.
25	Sir Thomas Evans Flitcroft		Liberal	1926–1928	2	b.1861 – d.1938. Knighted in the King's Birthday Honours list 1913.
26	Frank Cheadle		Labour	1928–1929	1	b.1885 – d.1940.
27	Robert Edwards Roberts		Conservative	1929–1930	1	b.1876 – d.1944.
28	Henry Warburton		Liberal	1930–1931	1	b.1865 – d.1936. Nephew of Thomas Warburton, founder of Warburtons the bakers.
29	George Sykes		Conservative	1931–1932	1	b.c.1874 – d.1958.
30	Samuel Lomax		Labour	1932–1933	1	b.1871 – d.1944.
31	Dr Ernest Monks		Conservative	1933–1934	1	b.1871 – d.1941. Father of Dr John Richard Monks, Mayor of Bolton 1970–71.
32	John Percy Taylor		Liberal	1934–1935	1	b.1868 – d.1945. Appointed High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1926.
33	Benjamin Kirkman		Labour	1935–1936	1	b.c.1864 – d.1953.
34	James Alfred Russell		Conservative	1936–1937	1	b.1873 – d.1948.
35	Thomas Halstead		Labour	1937–1938	1
36	James Entwistle		Conservative	1938–1939	1
37	Charles Harold Beswick		Liberal	1939–1940	1	b.1874 – d.1945.
38	Walter Wharton Tong		Conservative	1940–1941	1	b.1890 – d.1978. Nephew of Thomas Barlow Tong, Mayor of Bolton 1906–08. Knighted on the 11 February 1955.
39	Alfred Booth		Labour	1941–1942	1	b.1893 – d.1965. Labour MP for Bolton East 1950–1951.
40	James Bleakley		Conservative	1942–1943	1	b.1893 – d.1993.
41	Fred Bentley		Liberal	1943–1944	1
42	Walter Bradley		Conservative	1944–1945	1
43	Robert Demaine		Labour	1945–1946	1	b.1874 – d.1948.
44	Dr Horace Wilfred Taylor		Conservative	1946–1947	1
45	John Henry Hampson		Labour	1947–1949	2
46	Thomas Glaister		Conservative	1949–1950	1	b.1886 – d.1974. Grandson of Thomas Glaister, Mayor of Bolton 1881–82, and brother-in-law of William Wharton Tong, Mayor of Bolton 1940–41.
47	Helen Wright		Labour	1950–1951	1	b.1892 – d.1970. The first female Mayor of Bolton.
48	Thomas Parry Dunning		Conservative	1951–1952	1	b.1893 – d.1973.
49	James Vickers		Labour	1952–1953	1	b.1895 – d.1972.
50	James Parkes,		Conservative	1953–1954	1	b.1893 – d.1980.
51	Peter Flanagan		Labour	1954–1955	1	b.1887 – d.1964.
52	Stanley Entwistle		Conservative	1955–1956	1	died 1978.
53	Peter Lowe		Labour	1956–1957	1	b.1904 – d.1986.
54	Frank Young		Conservative	1957–1958	1	b.1904 – d.1977.
55	Elizabeth Ann Ashmore		Labour	1958–1959	1	b.1895 – d.1972.
56	Edwin Taylor		Conservative	1959–1960	1	b.1905 – d.1973. Conservative MP for Bolton East 1960–64.
57	James Gradwell		Labour	1960–1961	1	b.1891 – d.1972.
58	William Harold Bateson		Conservative	1961–1962	1	b.1897 – d.1967.
59	John Arthur Childs		Labour	1962–1963	1	b.1899 – d.1965.
60	Thomas Connor		Liberal	1963–1964	1
61	Harry Wood		Conservative	1964–1965	1
62	Charles Henry Lucas		Labour	1965–1966	1	Awarded a CBE in 1970.
63	Nora Vickers		Conservative	1966–1967	1
64	Clarence Leat		Labour	1967–1968	1	b.1892 – d.1973.
65	Ethel Maisie Ryley		Conservative	1968–1969	1
66	Herbert Glynn		Labour	1969–1970	1	b.1908 – d.1995.[7]
67	Dr John Richard Monks		Conservative	1970–1971	1	b.1911 – d.1985. Son of Dr Ernest Monks, Mayor of Bolton 1933–34.
68	Arnold Townend		Labour	1971–1972	1
69	Alan Ellis Clarke		Labour	1972–1973	1	b.1931. Triplet brother of Donald Stewart Clarke, Mayor of Bolton 1977–78.
70	Henry Devenish		Labour	1973–1974	1	b.1926 – d.2010.

Transitional Mayor

No.	Mayor	Party		Tenure	Terms	Notes
1	John Collins Hanscomb		Conservative	1973–1974	1	Councillor for Deane cum Heaton Ward. Chairman (1973–1974) and Transitional Mayor (1974) during the dissolution of the County Borough and the foundation of the Metropolitan Borough.[3]

Metropolitan Borough Mayors

No.	Mayor	Party		Tenure	Terms	Notes
1	Doris Berry		Conservative	1974–1975	1	b.1912 – d.1992. The first Mayor of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton.
2	John Arthur Foster		Labour	1975–1976	1	b.1927 – d.2010.
3	James Rigby		Conservative	1976–1977	1	b.1918 – d.1998.
4	Donald Stewart Clarke		Labour	1977–1978	1	b.1931 – d.2005. Triplet brother of Alan Ellis Clarke, Mayor of Bolton 1972–73.[8]
5	Adam Hibbert		Conservative	1978–1979	1	b.1910 – d.1992.
6	Elizabeth Olwen Hamer		Labour	1979–1980	1	b.1928 – d.1995.
7	James Smith		Conservative	1980–1981	1	b.1912 – d.1994.
8	Joseph Wild		Labour	1981–1982	1	b.1916 – d.1994.
9	John Collins Hanscomb		Conservative	1982–1983	1	Councillor for Deane cum Heaton Ward b.1924 – d.2019. Previously Chairman / Transitional Mayor 1973–74. Appointed a CBE in December 1980.
10	Alan Samuel Brigg		Labour	1983–1984	1	b.1911 – d.1988.
11	Barbara Annette Hurst		Conservative	1984–1985	1	b.1919 – d.2001. Awarded an MBE in 1993.[9]
12	William Hardman		Labour	1985–1986	1	b.1939 – d.1999.[10]
13	Arthur Poulsom		Conservative	1986–1987	1	b.1913 – d.1988.
14	William Arthur Robinson		Labour	1987–1988	1	b.1923 – d.1990.
15	Brian Melvyn Allanson		Conservative	1988–1989	1	b.1927.
16	Kenneth MacIvor		Labour	1989–1990	1	b.1925 – d.2004.
17	Geoffrey Smith		Conservative	1990–1991	1	b.1945.
18	Gerald Riley		Labour	1991–1992	1	b.1929.
19	Ernest Crook		Conservative	1992–1993	1	b.1927.
20	Campbell Jocelyn H Benjamin		Labour	1993–1994	1	b.1914 – d.2004. The first black Mayor of Bolton. Appointed an OBE in 1996.[11]
21	Thomas Anderton		Labour	1994–1995	1	Councillor for Daubhill Ward b.1924.
22	Frank Alan Rushton		Conservative	1995–1996	1	Councillor for Deane cum Heaton Ward and later for Heaton and Lostock Ward b.1934.
23	Eric Johnson		Labour	1996–1997	1	b.1923. Also was Mayor of Blackrod 1988–89 and 1993–94.
24	Peter Gareth Birch		Labour	1997–1998	1	b.1948 – d.2001.[12]
25	Peter Louis Finch		Labour	1998–1999	1	Councillor for Westhoughton Ward b.1937. Also was Mayor of Westhoughton 1986–87.
26	John Monaghan		Labour	1999–2000	1	Councillor for Blackrod Ward b.1936 – d.2008.[13] Also was Mayor of Blackrod 1992–93 and 1997–98.
27	Alan Wilkinson		Conservative	2000–2001	1	Councillor for Bromley Cross Ward b.1948.
28	Kevan James Helsby		Labour	2001–2002	1	Councillor for Horwich Ward b.1950. Received an MBE in the Millennium honours list. Also was Mayor of Horwich 1987–88 and 2004–05.[14]
29	John Walsh		Conservative	2002–2003	1	Councillor for Astley Bridge Ward b.1952. Appointed an OBE in 1994.
30	Clifford Morris		Labour	2003–2004	1	Councillor for Halliwell Ward.
31	Prentice Howarth		Labour	2004–2005	1	Councillor for Great Lever Ward b.1936.
32	Frank Richard White		Labour	2005–2006	1	Councillor for Tonge with the Haulgh Ward b.1940. Labour MP for Bury and Radcliffe 1979–1983.
33	Walter Hall		Conservative	2006–2007	1	Councillor for Bradshaw Ward b.1935.
34	Barbara Olwyn Ronson		Liberal Democrats	2007–2008	1	Councillor for Horwich North East Ward b.1942. Also was Mayor of Horwich 1996–97.[15]
35	Anthony Connell		Labour	2008–2009	1	Councillor for Little Lever and Darcy Lever Ward b.1941.[16]
36	Norman Critchley		Conservative	2009–2010	1	Councillor for Bromley Cross Ward b.1938.[17]
37	John Byrne		Labour	2010–2011	1	Councillor for Breightmet Ward.[18]
38	Anthony Noel Spencer		Labour	2011–2012	1	Councillor for Farnworth Ward.
39	Guy Harkin		Labour	2012–2013	1	Councillor for Crompton Ward.[19][20]
40	Colin Shaw		Conservative	2013–2014	1	Councillor for Heaton and Lostock Ward.[21]
41	Martin Donaghy		Labour	2014–2015	1	Councillor for Tonge with the Haulgh Ward.[22]
42	Carole Swarbrick		Liberal Democrats	2015–2016	1	Councillor for Smithills Ward.[23]
43	Lynda Byrne		Labour	2016–2017	1	Councillor for Breightmet Ward.
44	Roger Hayes		Liberal Democrats	2017–2018	1	Councillor for Smithills Ward.[24]
45	Elaine Sherrington		Labour	2018–2019	1	Councillor for Tonge with the Haulgh Ward.
46	Hilary Fairclough		Conservative	2019–2020	1	Councillor for Astley Bridge Ward.[25]
47	Linda Thomas		Labour	2020–2022	2	Councillor for Halliwell Ward. Served a two-year term of office due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also was Mayor of Westhoughton 1995–96.
48	Akhtar Zaman		Labour	2022–2023	1	Councillor for Halliwell Ward. The first Asian and Muslim Mayor of Bolton.
49	Mohammed Ayub		Labour	2023–2024	1	Councillor for Great Lever Ward.
50	Andrew Morgan		Conservative	2024–2025	1	Councillor for Heaton, Lostock & Chew Moor Ward.

References

1. Links in a Chain - Bolton 1838–2008. URL accessed 11 May 2008.
2. Famous Boltonians. URL accessed 11 May 2008.
3. Links in a Chain - John Collins Hanscomb. URL accessed 11 May 2008.
4. "Election of Mayors". The Times. No. 36609. London. 11 November 1901. p. 7.
5. "Election of Mayors". The Times. No. 36922. London. 11 November 1902. p. 12.
6. Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages ^{[self-published source] [better source needed]}. URL accessed 15 May 2008.
7. "Former Mayor dies, 87". The Bolton News. Newsquest Media Group. 29 November 1995.
8. "'He lived life to the full'". The Bolton News. Newsquest Media Group. 17 March 2005.
9. "'First Citizen' dies". The Bolton News. Newsquest Media Group. 13 September 2001.
10. "Former mayor dies". The Bolton News. Newsquest Media Group. 2 March 1999.
11. "Award 'a major boost to ethnic minorities'". The Bolton News. Newsquest Media Group. 30 December 1995.
12. "Ex-mayor dies after heart attack". The Bolton News. Newsquest Media Group. 4 December 2001.
13. "Tributes to former Mayor of Bolton". The Bolton News. Newsquest Media Group. 4 May 2008.
14. Former mayor retires from politics. The Bolton News, first published 12 April 2007.
15. "History as Lib-Dem takes over as Mayor". The Bolton News. Newsquest Media Group. 17 May 2007.
16. Bolton's new Mayor all set for a Marathon year. The Bolton News, first published 15 May 2008.
17. "New Mayor pays tribute to the people of Bolton". The Bolton News. Newsquest Media Group. 13 May 2009.
18. "It's hello Mr Mayor". The Bolton News. Newsquest Media Group. 20 May 2010.
19. Member's Details - Councillor Guy Harkin Archived 2012-03-05 at the Wayback Machine. Bolton Council. Retrieved on 17 May 2012.
20. "I'm proud to be mayor of 'Britain's friendliest town'". The Bolton News. Newsquest Media Group. 17 May 2012.
21. "Links in a Chain - the Mayors of Bolton". Bolton Council. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
22. "Meet the new Mayor of Bolton - Martin Donaghy". Bolton News. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
23. "Smithills councillor Carole Swarbrick inaugurated as the new Mayor of Bolton". Bolton News. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
24. "The Mayor". Bolton Council. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
25. "The Mayor of Bolton for 2019-20 is Councillor Hilary Fairclough". Bolton Council. Retrieved 7 July 2019.

External links

• Mayor - general information. Bolton Council.
• Links in a Chain. Covering the Mayors of Bolton, along with the Chairmen and Mayors of Farnworth, Kearsley, Little Lever, Horwich, Westhoughton, Turton, and Blackrod.