Blackrod Urban District

Blackrod was, from 1872 to 1974, a local government district centred on the village of Blackrod in the administrative county of Lancashire, England.

Blackrod Urban District
Area
• 1911	2,392 acres (9.7 km^2)[1]
• 1961	2,392 acres (9.7 km^2)[1]
Population
• 1891	4,021
• 1971	4,805
History
• Created	1872
• Abolished	1974
• Succeeded by	Metropolitan Borough of Bolton
Status	Local board (1872–1894) Urban district (1894–1974)

History

Blackrod was a township and chapelry in the civil and ecclesiastical parish of Bolton le Moors in the Salford Hundred of Lancashire.[2] The township became part of the Wigan Poor Law Union on 1 February 1837 which took responsibility for funding the Poor Law within that Union area.[3] In 1866, Blackrod was given the status of a civil parish.[4][5]

A resolution for the adoption of the Local Government Act 1858 was passed on 9 May 1872 by the owners and ratepayers of the township of Blackrod,[6] and a local board was created to provide for the water supply and drainage of the township.[7][8] After the Public Health Act 1875 was passed by Parliament in that year, Blackrod Local Board assumed extra duties as an urban sanitary district, although the Local Board's title did not change.[9]

Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1894, Blackrod Local Board was transformed into an elected urban district council of nine members.[7] Blackrod Urban District Council had three electoral wards: Central, North, and South, each represented by three councillors.[10]

Under the Local Government Act 1972, Blackrod Urban District was abolished on 1 April 1974 and its former area became a successor parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester.[11][12]

Demography

Population changes of Blackrod, 1891–1971

Year Population ±% 1891 4,021 —     1901 3,875 −3.6% 1911 3,896 +0.5%	Year Population ±% 1921 3,867 −0.7% 1931 3,599 −6.9% 1939 3,072 −14.6%	Year Population ±% 1951 3,153 +2.6% 1961 3,606 +14.4% 1971 4,805 +33.3%
Sources: Urban Sanitary District (USD) 1891.[10][13] Urban District (UD) 1901–1971.[10][14][15]

Lists of office holders

Chairmen of Blackrod Local Board

Chairmen of Blackrod Local Board
Name		Party	Tenure	Notes
	Henry Smith	—	1872–1873	He was later Medical Officer of Health for Blackrod Local Board.
	Benjamin Davies	Conservative	1873–1881	He was a member the first Board of Governors of Rivington and Blackrod Grammar School in 1875.
	James Eckersley	Conservative	1881–1894	Last Chairman of Blackrod Local Board.
Source(s):[12]

Chairmen of Blackrod Urban District Council

Chairmen of Blackrod Urban District Council
Name		Party	Tenure	Notes
	James Eckersley	Conservative	1894–1901	First Chairman of Blackrod Urban District Council.
	John Unsworth	Liberal	1901–1907	Previously Chairman of Westhoughton Local Board: 1893-94.
	The Rev. George Worsley Coleman	—	1907–1910	Also was Vicar of St Katharine's Church, Blackrod: 1900–1911.
	Edward Cherry	Liberal	1910–1916	1st term.
	Robert Berry	Labour	1916–1919
	Aaron Helme	—	1919–1922
	Adam Brindle	Conservative	1922–1925
	William Metcalfe	—	1925–1927
	Albert Worthington	Independent	1927–1930	1st term.
	Ellis Atkinson	—	1930–1933
	William Edward Moss	—	1933–1934
	John Kellett	—	1934–1938
	Edward Cherry	Liberal	1938–1939	2nd term.
	Albert Worthington	Independent	1939–1940	2nd term.
	Thomas Roocroft	Labour	1940–1941	1st term.
	Harry Fowles	Independent	1941–1942
	Joseph Jolley	Independent	1942–1943	1st term.
	Thomas Booth	Labour	1943–1944	1st term.
	John Pilkington	—	1944–1945
	Rupert Henry Capper	—	1945–1946
	Edward Cherry	Liberal	1946–1947	3rd term.
	Thomas Roocroft	Labour	1947–1948	2nd term.
	Albert Worthington	Independent	1948–1949	3rd term.
	Joseph Jolley	Conservative	1949–1950	2nd term.
	Thomas Booth	Labour	1950–1951	2nd term.
	John Marshall	Conservative	1951–1952	1st term.
	James Hodge	—	1952–1953	1st term.
	Thomas Roocroft	Labour	1953–1954	3rd term.
	Harry Jones	—	1954–1955
	Joseph Jolley	Conservative	1955–1956	3rd term.
	Thomas Booth	Labour	1956–1957	3rd term.
	Christopher Charles Cutler	Conservative	1957–1958	1st term.
	James Hodge	—	1958–1959	2nd term.
	Thomas Roocroft	Labour	1959–1960	4th term. Died in office.
	Walter Chadwick	Independent	1960–1961
	Joseph Jolley	Conservative	1961–1962	4th term.
	Thomas Booth	Labour	1962–1963	4th term.
	Christopher Charles Cutler	Conservative	1963–1964	2nd term.
	John Marshall	Conservative	1964–1965	2nd term.
	Joseph Jolley	Conservative	1965–1966	5th term.
	John Foster	Labour	1966–1967
	Christopher Charles Cutler	Conservative	1967–1968	3rd term.
	John Marshall	Conservative	1968–1969	3rd term.
	Joseph Jolley	Conservative	1969–1970	6th term. Later Mayor of Blackrod: 1979–80.
	Reginald Winstanley	Conservative	1970–1971
	Constance Mary Everin	Conservative	1971–1972	Later Mayor of Blackrod: 1977–78, 1982–83.
	Lancelot Watkinson	Labour	1972–1973	Later Mayor of Blackrod: 1985–86.
	George Arthur Gardiner	Labour	1973–1974	Last Chairman of Blackrod Urban District Council. First Mayor of Blackrod: 1974–75.
Source(s):[12]

Notes

1. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Blackrod UD: Area (acres)". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
2. Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1911). "The parish of Bolton-le-Moors". A History of the County of Lancaster. Victoria County History. Volume 5. British History Online. pp. 235–243. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
3. Higginbotham, Peter. "The Workhouse: Wigan, Lancashire". The Workhouse: The story of an institution... Retrieved 24 July 2016.
4. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Blackrod CP/Ch: Relationships and changes". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
5. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Status details for Civil Parish". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
6. "No. 23874". The London Gazette. 9 July 1872. p. 3106.
7. Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1911). "Townships: Blackrod". A History of the County of Lancaster. Victoria County History. Volume 5. British History Online. pp. 299–303. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
8. Hampson, Thomas (1882). History of Blackrod. Wigan: "Observer" Office. pp. 66–70.
9. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Blackrod USD: Relationships and changes". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
10. Tatton, Pauline. Local population statistics 1801–1986: abbreviated tables compiled from census statistics for Bolton. Bolton Libraries.
11. "Greater Manchester Gazetteer". Greater Manchester County Record Office. Place names – B. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
12. Links in a Chain Project. "Blackrod 1872–present". Links in a Chain. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
13. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Blackrod USD: Males & Females". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
14. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Blackrod UD: Total Population". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
15. The 1939 population is estimated from the number of identity cards issued to the inhabitants of Blackrod in that year, which were required under the National Registration Act 1939. The 1941 census did not take place because of the Second World War.