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 or the Local Government Act 1933.
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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.
† Listed in the schedule of the Municipal Corporations Act 1883.
Twenty-four boroughs were incorporated in 1890s.
|
Borough |
County at Incorporation |
Year of Incorporation |
|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth | Hampshire | 1890 |
| Chatham | Kent | 1890 |
| Nelson | Lancashire | 1890 |
| Ossett | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1890 |
| Richmond | Surrey | 1890 |
| Worthing | West Sussex | 1890 |
| Haslingden | Lancashire | 1891 |
| Mansfield | Nottinghamshire | 1891 |
| Rawtenstall | Lancashire | 1891 |
| Eccles | Lancashire | 1892 |
| Southend on Sea | Essex | 1892 |
| Thornaby-on-Tees | North Riding of Yorkshire | 1892 |
| Torquay | Devon | 1892 |
| Widnes | Lancashire | 1892 |
| Brighouse | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1893 |
| Whitehaven | Cumberland | 1894 |
| Colne | Lancashire | 1895 |
| Todmorden | Lancashire and West Riding of Yorkshire | 1896 |
| Hemel Hempstead | Hertfordshire | 1898 |
| Hove | East Sussex | 1898 |
| Abergavenny | Monmouthshire | 1899 |
| Bridlington | East Riding of Yorkshire | 1899 |
| Dukinfield | Cheshire | 1899 |
| Smethwick | Staffordshire | 1899 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pudsey | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1900 |
| Swindon | Wiltshire | 1900 |
| Ealing | Middlesex | 1901 |
| Wallsend | Northumberland | 1901 |
| Bexhill | East Sussex | 1902 |
| Morecambe | Lancashire | 1902 |
| Aston Manor | Warwickshire | 1903 |
| Bromley | Kent | 1903 |
| Gillingham | Kent | 1903 |
| Hornsey | Middlesex | 1903 |
| East Ham | Essex | 1904 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | Glamorgan | 1905 |
| Wimbledon | Surrey | 1905 |
| Nuneaton | Warwickshire | 1907 |
There were only seven incorporations in this period. In fact, the number of boroughs only increased by one, as six boroughs were abolished. 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-Trent | Staffordshire (County Borough) | 1910 |
| Wallasey | Cheshire | 1910 |
| Fowey | Cornwall | 1913 |
| Llanelly | Carmarthenshire | 1913 |
| Stourbridge | Worcestershire | 1914 |
| Aylesbury | Buckinghamshire | 1917 |
| Buxton | Derbyshire | 1917 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Acton | Middlesex | 1921 |
| Port Talbot | Glamorgan | 1921 |
| Redcar | North Riding of Yorkshire | 1921 |
| Aldershot | Hampshire | 1922 |
| Blyth | Northumberland | 1922 |
| Gosport | Hampshire | 1922 |
| Lytham St. Annes | Lancashire | 1922 |
| Watford | Hertfordshire | 1922 |
| Ilford | Essex | 1926 |
| Leyton | Essex | 1926 |
| Twickenham | Middlesex | 1926 |
| Walthamstow | Essex | 1926 |
There were fifty-three incorporations of boroughs in this period.
The incorporations of Farnworth and Prestwich in 1939 were to be the last for fifteen years.
Initially a halt was put to the creation of new boroughs for the duration of the 1939–1945 war. The Local Elections and Register of Electors (Temporary Provisions) Act 1939, a piece of emergency war time legislation, provided that no changes could be made to the status or boundaries of local government areas. The legislation was renewed on an annual basis until 1945.
With the ending of hostilities a Local Government Boundary Commission was appointed in October 1945 to review the entire structure of local administration. While the review was being held, no petitions for incorporation were made.
The commission was abolished without completing its work in 1949, and following a change of government in 1951, new applications for incorporation were again accepted.
Nine towns were incorporated in the years 1954 and 1955.
|
Borough |
County at Incorporation |
Year of Incorporation |
|---|---|---|
| Harrow | Middlesex | 1954 |
| Solihull | Warwickshire | 1954 |
| Whitley Bay | Northumberland | 1954 |
| Castleford | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1955 |
| Ellesmere Port | Cheshire | 1955 |
| Enfield | Middlesex | 1955 |
| Rhondda | Glamorgan | 1955 |
| Spenborough | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1955 |
| Uxbridge | Middlesex | 1955 |
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 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 Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castleford | Yorkshire, West Riding | 31 January 1893 | Gained incorporation in 1955 |
| Brentford | Middlesex | 17 March 1893 | Gained incorporation as Brentford and Chiswick in 1932 |
| Ealing | Middlesex | 17 March 1893 | |
| Aylesbury | Buckinghamshire | 19 May 1893 | Gained incorporation in 1917 |
| Llandudno | Caernarvonshire | 27 June 1893 | |
| Westminster (Parish of St Margaret and St John) |
County of London | 19 January 1897 | Became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster in 1900 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | Glamorgan | 21 May 1897 | Gained incorporation in 1905 |
| Cleethorpes | Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey | 9 July 1897 | Gained incorporation in 1936 |
| Kensington | County of London | 9 July 1897 | Became a metropolitan borough in 1900 |
| Cleckheaton | Yorkshire, West Riding | 13 October 1897 | |
| Heckmondwike | Yorkshire, West Riding | 13 October 1897 | |
| Liversedge | Yorkshire, West Riding | 15 October 1897 | |
| Shipley | Yorkshire, West Riding | 20 May 1898 | |
| Ealing | Middlesex | 12 August 1898 | Second petition. Gained incorporation in 1901 |
| Leyton | Essex | 21 October 1898 | Gained incorporation in 1926 |
| Chiswick | Middlesex | 15 May 1900 | Gained incorporation as Brentford and Chiswick in 1932 |
| Stretford | Lancashire | 25 March 1902 | Gained incorporation in 1933 |
| Wood Green | Middlesex | 20 October 1908 | Gained incorporation in 1933 |
| UDs of Eston, South Bank in Normanby and the parish of Normanby | Yorkshire, North Riding | 21 February 1912 | |
| Hebburn | Durham | 17 January 1912 | |
| Hebburn | Durham | 18 December 1925 | Second petition |
| Eston | Yorkshire, North Riding | 18 December 1925 | Second petition |
| Pontypridd | Glamorgan | 18 December 1925 | |
| Hoylake and West Kirby | Cheshire | 18 December 1925 | |
| Cannock | Staffordshire | 16 November 1934 | |
| Penge | Kent | 27 February 1934 | |
| Newton-in-Makerfield | Lancashire | 10 October 1933 | |
| Harrow | Middlesex | 19 November 1935 | Gained incorporation in 1954 |
| Woking | Surrey | 10 April 1936 | |
| Coseley | Staffordshire | 20 August 1937 | |
| Carshalton | Surrey | 15 October 1937 | |
| Coulsdon and Purley | Surrey | 1 February 1938 | |
| Bingley | Yorkshire, West Riding | 14 June 1938 | |
| Huyton-with-Roby | Lancashire | 23 November 1951 | |
| Brierley Hill | Staffordshire | 26 February 1952 | |
| Staines | Middlesex | 21 April 1952 | |
| Haltemprice | Yorkshire, East Riding | 8 April 1952 | |
| Bognor Regis | West Sussex | 27 May 1952 | |
| Hinckley | Leicestershire | 22 August 1952 | |
| Willenhall | Staffordshire | 26 September 1952 | |
| Long Eaton | Derbyshire | 2 September 1952 | |
| Beeston and Stapleford | Nottinghamshire | 6 January 1953 | |
| Colne Valley | Yorkshire, West Riding | 27 January 1953 | |
| Ruislip-Northwood | Middlesex | 24 February 1953 | |
| Farnborough | Hampshire | 21 April 1953 | |
| Leek | Staffordshire | 22 May 1953 | |
| Malvern | Worcestershire | 23 June 1953 | |
| Urmston | Lancashire | 30 June 1953 | |
| Friern Barnet | Middlesex | 3 July 1953 | |
| Carshalton | Surrey | 25 August 1953 | Second petition |
| Cannock | Staffordshire | 11 September 1953 | Second petition |
| Hayes and Harlington | Middlesex | 2 March 1954 | |
| Sutton-in-Ashfield | Nottinghamshire | 9 March 1954 | |
| Paingnton | Devon | 21 May 1954 | |
| Pontypridd | Glamorgan | 16 July 1954 | Second petition |
| Cheadle and Gatley | Cheshire | 15 February 1955 | |
| Hornchurch | Essex | 20 May 1955 | |
| Farnham | Surrey | 25 November 1955 | |
| Woking | Surrey | 13 December 1955 | Second petition |
The 1955 petition by Woking was the last application prior to reorganisation of local government in 1965 and 1974.
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