Municipal borough 667870 226110754 2008-07-16T21:32:01Z Lozleader 638613 /* Municipal Corporations Act 1835 */ note change in incorporation procedure in 1933 {{Infobox subdivision type | name= Municipal borough | alt_name= | map= | category= Local government district | territory= [[England and Wales]], [[Republic of Ireland]], [[Northern Ireland]] | upper_unit= County | start_date= 1835 | start_date1= | start_date2= | start_date3= | start_date4= | legislation_begin= [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]] (England and Wales) | legislation_begin1= [[Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840]] (Ireland) | legislation_begin2= | legislation_begin3= | legislation_begin4= | legislation_end= [[Local Government Act 1972]] (England and Wales) | legislation_end1= [[Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971]] (Northern Ireland) | legislation_end2= [[Local Government Act 2001]] (Republic of Ireland) | legislation_end3= | legislation_end4= | end_date= 1974 (England and Wales) | end_date1= 1973 (Northern Ireland) | end_date2= 2002 (Republic of Ireland) | end_date3= | end_date4= | current_number= | number_date= | type= County borough | type1= Non-county borough | type2= | type3= | type4= | status= City | status1= Royal borough | status2= | status3= | status4= | exofficio= | exofficio1= | exofficio2= | exofficio3= | exofficio4= | population_range= | area_range= | government= Municipal corporation | government1= | government2= | government3= | government4= | subdivision= [[Ward (politics)|Wards]] | subdivision1= | subdivision2= | subdivision3= | subdivision4= }} '''Municipal boroughs''' were a type of [[local government]] 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 [[Scotland]] from 1833 to 1975 with the reform of [[royal burgh]]s and creation of [[police burgh]]s. ==England and Wales== ===Municipal Corporations Act 1835=== [[Borough]]s had existed in England and Wales since [[mediƦval]] times. By the [[late Middle Ages]] they had come under royal control, with [[municipal corporation|corporations]] established by [[royal charter]]. These corporations were not popularly elected: characteristically they were self-selecting [[oligarchies]], were nominated by tradesmen's [[guild]]s or were under the control of the [[lord of the manor]]. A [[Royal Commission]] was appointed in 1833 to investigate the various borough corporations in England and Wales. In all 263 towns were found to have some form of corporation created by charter or in existence [[time immemorial|by prescription]]. The majority had self-elected common councils, whose members served for life. Where there was an election, the incumbent members of the corporation often effectively nominated the electorate. Eleven boroughs were [[manor|manorial]] [[Court leet|court leets]].<ref name=fletcher>Joseph Fletcher, ''Statistics of the Municipal Institutions of the English Towns'' in ''Journal of the Statistical Society of London'', Vol. 5, No. 2, (Jul., 1842), pp. 97-168</ref> Following the report of the royal commission, legislation was introduced to reform borough corporations. The [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]] provided for a reformed form of town government, designated a municipal borough. The Act introduced a uniform system of town government in municipal boroughs, with an elected [[town council]], consisting of a [[mayor]], [[aldermen]] and [[councillor]]s to oversee many local affairs. The legislation required all municipal corporations to be elected according to a standard franchise, based on property ownership. The Act reformed 178 boroughs. At the same time, a procedure was established whereby the inhabitant householders of a town could [[petition]] the Crown via the [[privy council]] to grant a [[royal charter|charter of incorporation]], constituting the area a municipal borough.<ref>Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (C.76) S.141</ref> The attempts to incorporate large industrial towns such as [[Birmingham]], [[Bolton]], [[Manchester]] and [[Sheffield]] by [[Whig]] and [[Radicals (UK)|Radical]] "incorporationists" were bitterly contested by [[Tory]] "anti-incorporationists".<ref>Nicholas C Edsall, ''Varieties of Radicalism: Attwood, Cobden and the Local Politics of Municipal Incorporation'', in ''The Historical Journal'', Vol. 16, No. 1, (March 1973), pp. 93-107</ref> The Tory objections to the legality of the charters led to them boycotting elections to the new boroughs until the enactment of the [[Borough Charters Confirmation Act 1842]].<ref>1842 C.111</ref> A number of further acts of parliament amended the 1835 legislation, all of which were repealed and replaced by the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1882]]. The 1882 Act and the consolidating [[Local Government Act 1933]] provided the statutory basis for municipal boroughs up to their abolition. An important change in the 1933 legislation removed the right to petition for incorporation from inhabitant householders. In future, petitions could only be made by existing urban or [[rural district]] councils.<ref>Local Government Act 1933 (C.51), S.129</ref> The [[Unreformed boroughs in England and Wales 1835 - 1886|boroughs unreformed by the Act]] were not immediately abolished. Several of them subsequently sought new charters as municipal boroughs; those that did not were finally abolished in 1887 by the Municipal Corporations Act 1886. Only the City of London Corporation survives as a local authority to today in an unreformed state. ===Corporation and council=== Each municipal borough possessed a corporation uniformly designated as the ''Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses'' of the town. The only exception was where the borough enjoyed [[city status in the United Kingdom|city status]]; in this case "burgesses" became "citizens". In a handful of cities the chief magistrate was granted the futher dignity of [[List of lord mayoralties and lord provostships in the United Kingdom|lord mayor]]. The corporation was a body corporate with perpetual succession, and included all registered electors or "burgesses" of the borough. However, the actual administration was carried out by a town council, which was in effect a committee representative of the community at large. All those eligible to vote were entered in the "burgess roll", which was compiled by the town clerk annually.<ref name="shaw">Albert Shaw, ''Municipal Government in Great Britain'', in ''Political Science Quarterly'', Vol4, No.2, June 1889, pp. 197-229</ref> ====Town councils==== The town council of each municipal borough consisted of a mayor, aldermen and councillors. The councillors were directly elected by the burgesses for a three-year term, with one third of their membership retiring each year. Boroughs with a population of more than 6,000 were divided into [[ward (politics)|wards]] with separate elections held in each ward annually.<ref name=finlayson>G B A M Finlayson, ''The Politics of Municipal Reform, 1835'', in ''The English Historical Review'', Vol.81, No.321, (October 1966), pp.673-692</ref> One quarter of the council were [[alderman|aldermen]], who were elected by the council for a six-year term. Half of the aldermen were elected every third year at the council's annual meeting. It was originally envisaged that the council would choose persons from outside of the municipal body. In practice, however, the aldermanic benches were almost exclusively filled by the promotion of long-serving councillors.<ref name="shaw"/> The mayor of the borough was elected for a one-year term, although he was eligible for re-election indefinitely. Under the original legislation the mayor was required to ba a councillor or alderman. The Municipal Corporations Act 1882 empowered the council to elect any suitably-qualified inhabitant of the borough as mayor. However, the mayoralty continued to be almost universally conferred on a senior alderman or councillor.<ref name="shaw"/> Municipal elections were originally held on November 1, with the mayoral election and filling of aldermanic vacancies on November 9. Elections were cancelled during the [[First World War|First]] and [[Second World War]]s, and the November 1948 elections were postponed until May of 1949. From that date municipal elections were held on the second Thursday of May.<ref>''The Municipal Elections'', The Times, May 13, 1949 p.3</ref> In view of the forthcoming local government reorganisation, the 1972 elections were rescheduled to May 4, with no elections in 1973 and all sitting councillors and aldermen holding their seats until midnight on [[March 31]], [[1974]].<ref>The Times, May 5, 1972</ref> ===County and non-county boroughs=== In 1889, the [[Local Government Act 1888]] created [[county council]]s across England and Wales. Boroughs were divided into two sorts, with some becoming [[county borough]]s which were entirely self-governing and independent from county council administration. The non-county boroughs had more limited powers of self-government, and shared power with county councils. In 1894, towns which had not been incorporated as boroughs became [[urban district]]s with similar powers to municipal boroughs. The title of 'borough' was considered to be more dignified than 'urban district', and so many larger urban districts petitioned to be granted the status of a municipal borough, and many were granted this right. Borough status did not substantially increase local government powers, although municipal boroughs above a certain size had the right to run [[primary education]]. See also: [[Boroughs incorporated in England and Wales 1835 - 1882]], [[Unreformed boroughs in England and Wales 1835 - 1886]] and [[Boroughs incorporated in England and Wales 1882 - 1974]]. ===Abolition=== Under the [[Local Government Act 1958]], small municipal boroughs could be absorbed by surrounding [[rural districts]] to become [[Local Government Act 1958#Rural boroughs|rural boroughs]], with the powers of a [[parish council]]. Seven small boroughs in Cornwall, Devon and Shropshire underwent this process. The remaining municipal boroughs, of which there were over 200, were abolished on [[April 1]], [[1974]] by the [[Local Government Act 1972]]. In England, they were replaced by [[metropolitan borough|metropolitan]] or [[non-metropolitan district]]s and in Wales by [[districts of Wales|districts]]. In most cases the civic privileges and [[coat of arms]] of the abolished boroughs were inherited by one of the new local authorities. District councils were permitted to apply for a charter to receive [[borough status in the United Kingdom|borough status]], while small municipal boroughs became [[successor parish]]es with Town Councils headed by a town mayor. In a few cases [[charter trustees]], a special committee of district councillors, were formed to pepetuate the mayoralty of a town or city. ==Ireland 1840 - 1922== The [[Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840]] followed the example of the legislation in England and Wales. Unlike the 1835 Act, the Irish Act abolished nearly all of the country's boroughs, reforming just 10. The number was increased to 11 when [[Wexford]] received a charter of incorporation in [[1846]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wexfordcorp.ie/bc/AroundTown/History/HistoryofBoroughCouncil/ |title=History of Borough Council |accessdate=2008-07-14 |work= |publisher=Wexford Borough Council |date= }}</ref> The corporation and town council was identical in constitution to the English boroughs, and each borough was divided into wards with three, six or nine councillors per ward and and one alderman for every three councillors.<ref>Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 C.108</ref> The [[Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898]] designated the six largest municipalities ([[Belfast]], [[Cork]], [[Dublin]], [[Limerick]], [[Derry|Londonderry]] and [[Waterford]]) as county boroughs. The [[Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919]] introduced a system of [[proportional representation]] into municipal elections. Wards were replaced by electoral areas, and the entire council was to be elected trienially. Separate elections of aldermen and councillors were ended, with all members of the council elected by popular vote. One quarter of the elected members were entitled to the title of "alderman", which was used to designate the first candidates elected in each area. The remaining successful candidates being "councillors".<ref>Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919 C.19</ref> On [[Government of Ireland Act 1920|partition]] in 1922, two boroughs were included in [[Northern Ireland]], and nine in the [[Irish Free State]]. ==Northern Ireland== In addition to the county boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry, a number of [[urban district]]s in Northern Ireland petitioned for municipal charters. Accordingly, by 1972 the number of boroughs had increased to 12 in number. The system of local government was reorganised in 1973, with a 26 [[Districts of Northern Ireland|local government districts]] replacing replacing all county and municipal boroughs as well as urban and [[rural district]]s. The city or borough status conferred by the municipal charters passed to the new district councils.<ref>Local Government (Northern Ireland) Act 1972 (N.I. 1972 c.9)</ref> ==The Irish Free State and Republic of Ireland== Nine boroughs (four county boroughs and five municipal boroughs) were included in the territory of the Irish Free State in 1922. In 1930 a new [[Corporation of Dun Laoghaire|borough of Dun Laoghaire]] was created by the amalgamtion of four urban districts in [[County Dublin]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1930/en/act/pub/0027/sec0003.html#zza27y1930s3 |title=Local Government (Dublin) Act, 1930 |accessdate=2008-07-14 |work=Irish Statute Book |publisher=Office of the Attorney General |date= }}</ref> In 1937 the town of Galway was reconstituted as a municipal borough by Act of Parliament.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1937/en/act/prv/0003/sec0004.html#zzpa3y1937s4 |title=Local Government (Galway) Act, 1937 |accessdate=2008-07-14 |work=Irish Statute Book |publisher=Office of the Attorney General |date= }}</ref> The [[Local Government Act 2001]] abolished municipal boroughs. County boroughs were replaced by statutory "cities", while the title of "borough" was retained for the other towns holding the status.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2001/en/act/pub/0037/sec0010.html#partii-sec10 |title=Local Government Act, 2001 |accessdate=2008-07-14 |work=Irish Statute Book |publisher=Office of the Attorney General |date= }}</ref> ==See also== *[[List of rural and urban districts in England]] *[[List of rural and urban districts in Wales]] *[[Urban district|Urban District]] *[[Rural district|Rural District]] *[[County borough|County Borough]] *[[Parliamentary borough|Parliamentary Borough]] ==References== {{Reflist}} [[Category:Local government in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Boroughs of the United Kingdom]]