The Municipal Borough of Middleton was, from 1886 to 1974, a

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

in the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England, coterminous with the town of Middleton.

Civic history

By the nineteenth century the neighbouring

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

of Middleton and Tonge formed a single town. The townships, separated by the

River Irk The River Irk is a river in the historic county of Lancashire in the North West England that flows through the northern most Lancastrian towns of the ceremonial county of Greater Manchester. It rises to the east of Royton and runs west past ...

, lay in different

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and local administration was in the hands of constables appointed by the

Lord of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

. In 1861 a local

act of parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

established Middleton and Tonge Improvement Commissioners under the Chairmanship of cotton spinner Edmund Howarth to provide public services in the area. One of its first acts was to take over responsibility for the Middleton Gas Company. In 1879 the

improvement commissioners Boards of improvement commissioners were ''ad hoc'' urban local government boards created during the 18th and 19th centuries in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its predecessors the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irel ...

district was enlarged to take in

Alkrington Alkrington Garden Village is a suburban area of Middleton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester England. Historically a part of Lancashire, in the Middle Ages Alkrington was a township in the parish of Prestwich-cum- ...

and parts of Hopwood and Thornham. Following a

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...

by the inhabitant householders of the improvement commissioners district, a

charter of incorporation A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

was granted on 21 July 1886, constituting the area as the Municipal Borough of Middleton. The borough was enlarged in 1894 by the addition of parts of the townships of

Great Heaton Great Heaton (also known as Over Heaton and Heaton Reddish) was a township in the parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham and hundred of Salford, in Lancashire, England. It was occupied land between Prestwich and Manchester, near Heaton Park. It form ...

and

Little Heaton Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

, and the boundaries with neighbouring districts were adjusted in 1933 by a

County Review Order The Local Government Act 1929 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to the Poor Law and local government in England and Wales. The Act abolished the system of poor law unions in England and Wales and their boar ...

. The borough was abolished by the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, with its area becoming part of the

Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, The borough covers other outlying towns and villages with a population of 206,500 at the ...

in the new county of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

in 1974.

Borough council

The charter created an elected town council for the borough, consisting of a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, six

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

and eighteen councillors. The borough was divided into three wards, and two councillors were elected for a three-year term in each ward annually. Each ward was also represented by two alderman: half of the aldermanic bench were elected by the council every three years, and they each served for six years. The mayor was elected annually from among the council's membership. In the early years the borough council appears to have non-political, and elections were rarely contested, with an agreed panel of candidates standing unopposed. In later years the council was broadly

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

in complexion. Following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

elections were held on party political lines. The Conservative Party had an overall majority until 1957, with

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and Independent councilors in opposition. In 1957 the size of the borough council was increased from twenty-four to thirty-six. The Labour Party gained control of the enlarged council, and held it until 1960. Apart from one year under no overall control, the administration of the borough alternated between the Conservatives (1960–1963 and 1969–1971) and Labour (1963–1969 and 1972–1974).

Coat of arms

The Mayor, Alderman and Burgesses of Middleton were granted

armorial bearings A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

on 28 January 1877. The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

of the arms was as follows: ''Quarterly per pale nebuly gules and argent on a fesse ermine between a cross patonce of the second in the first quarter a mullet sable pierced of the field in the second a silkworm moth volant in the third and a rock in base thereon a stork in the fourth three sprigs of the cotton tree slipped and fructed all proper, and for a crest on a wreath of the colours upon a mount vert between two boars' heads erect and couped sable a tower proper suspended therefrom by a riband gules an escutcheon Or charged with a lion passant also gules.'' The design combined features from the arms of local families with symbols of the town's industries. The basic layout of the shield was based on the arms of Middleton of Middleton Hall: "''Quarterly gules and Or in the first a cross flory argent''", while the black spur-rowel came from the arms of the Assheton family. The textile industries of Middleton were depicted by the cotton sprigs and silk worm moth. According to the borough council the stork represented ''"the desire for the increase in population'"''. The crest above the shield was made up of a tower and lion from the heraldry of the Earls of Middleton between two boars' heads from the arms of another Middleton family. The borough borrowed the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

of the Middleton Earls: ''Fortis in Arduis'' or "strong in difficulties".W C Scott-Giles, ''Civic Heraldry of England and Wales'', 2nd edition, London, 1953

References

{{coord, 53.55, -2.20, display=title, region:GB, format=dms Middleton History of Lancashire History of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale Local government in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale Middleton Middleton, Greater Manchester