The Municipal Borough of Heywood was, from 1881 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of

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, with

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, s ...

and coterminate with the town of Heywood.

Civic history

The first local government in the area was formed in 1864, when part of the

township 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 Heap adopted the Local Government Act 1858. Heap Middle Division Local Board was formed to govern the town. In 1867 the area of the local board was enlarged by the addition of parts of the townships of Birtle with Bamford, Castleton, Heap Hopwood, and Pilsworth. At the same time it was renamed as Heywood Local Board. In 1880 the inhabitant householders of the area

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 ...

ed the

privy council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

for the grant of a charter of incorporation under the

Municipal Corporations Act Municipal Corporations Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom for legislation relating to municipal corporations. List *The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76) *The Municipal Corporation (Bou ...

. The request was successful and a charter was granted on 18 February 1881, constituting Heywood 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 ...

. A borough council 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 ...

, aldermen and councillors replaced the local board. Thomas Isherwood was elected first mayor of Heywood. The borough boundaries were altered in 1900 and 1933. The municipal 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 included in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, one of ten districts 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 ...

Coat of arms

The Mayor Aldermen and Burgesses of Heywood were granted armorial bearings 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 14 May 1881. 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 ...

was as follows:
''Or five pellets between two bendlets engrailed the whole between as many mascles sable; and for a crest on a wreath of the colours in front of the trunk of a tree eradicated fessewise and sprouting to the dexter a falcon rising proper each wing charged with a pellet and holding in the beak a sprig of oak also proper three mascles interlaced Or.'' The arms were based on those of the Heywood family: ''Argent, three roundels between two bendlets all gules, Crest: a falcon rising from a tree trunk proper.'' In the arms of the borough, the colouring was changed form silver and red to gold and black. The heralds also introduced

mascle The lozenge in heraldry is a diamond-shaped rhombus charge (an object that can be placed on the field of the shield), usually somewhat narrower than it is tall. It is to be distinguished in modern heraldry from the fusil, which is like the lozen ...

s or hollow diamond shaped figures. It has been suggested that these were intended to represent the coal and iron industries.W C Scott-Giles, ''Civic Heraldry of England and Wales'', 2nd edition, London, 1953 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 Heywood family ''Alte Volo'' or "I fly high" was also adopted.

Borough council

The borough council was initially composed of a mayor, eighteen councillors and six aldermen. The borough was divided into three

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

, with six councillors and two aldermen returned for each ward. The first town council was controlled by the Liberal Party, with Conservatives forming an opposition group. Although there were annual elections of one third of the councillors, these were uncontested in many years. In 1892 the first

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 ...

members joined the council, when three aldermen were returned unopposed. From 1905 borough elections were contested. The Liberals retained their majority, with the Conservative and Labour parties also represented in the council. A private

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 ...

promoted by Heywood Corporation in 1908 increased the number of wards, councillors and aldermen. The size of the council was increased to thirty-six, consisting of twenty-four councillors and eight aldermen. No party held a majority on the council for many years. By 1949 the composition was sixteen Conservatives, thirteen Liberals, six Labour and one Independent. The three main parties were to have approximate parity on the council until 1958, when Labour gained control. The Conservatives and Liberals formed an anti-Labour alliance which took control at the 1959 election. The council then alternated between Labour (1963–1965), Conservative/Liberal (1965–1967) and Conservative (1968–1970) administrations. For the last four years of the council's existence, no party had a majority, with Labour the largest party from 1972.''Widespread Labour gains in Borough elections'', The Times, May 5, 1972, p.5

References

{{coord, 53.59, -2.22, display=title, region:GB, format=dms Heywood Heywood History of Lancashire History of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale Local government in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale Heywood Heywood, Greater Manchester