Bolton

Bolton Lancashire UK Hub

Approximate Population: 139,403

Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West region of England. Situated close to the West Pennine Moors, 10 miles (16 km) north west of the city of Manchester, it is the largest and most populous settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, the former County Borough of Bolton, has a population of 139,403, although this figure does not include the many now abolished local authorities which surrounded Bolton, such as Farnworth Municipal Borough or Turton Urban District. These areas are however included in the metropolitan borough population which is 262,400.

Historically a part of Lancashire, Bolton originated as a small settlement in the moorland known as Bolton le Moors. During the English Civil War the town was a Parliamentarian outpost in a staunchly Royalist region. In 1644 Bolton was stormed by 3,000 Royalist troops led by Prince Rupert of the Rhine. This attack, which later came to be known as the Bolton Massacre, resulted in 1,600 residents being killed and 700 taken prisoner.

Noted as a former mill town, textiles have been produced in Bolton since Flemish weavers settled in the area during the 15th century, developing a wool and cotton weaving tradition. The urbanisation and development of Bolton largely coincided with the introduction of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. It was a boomtown of the 19th century and, at its zenith in 1929, 216 cotton mills and 26 bleaching and dying works, made it one of the largest and most productive centres of cotton spinning in the world. After World War I the British cotton industry declined sharply and by the 1980s cotton manufacture had virtually ceased in Bolton.

Bolton is today noted for its Premier League football club Bolton Wanderers who play from the Reebok Stadium, with Reebok, the sportswear company, being based in the town.

Bolton Lancashire UK Hub

Bolton

UK Hub

Bolton Greater Manchester

Approximate Population: 139,403

The town’s position on the west of the Pennines provides a damp climate.   It is this feature which probably led to Flemish weavers, fleeing the Huguenot persecutions in the 17th century, to eventually settle here, as moisture-laden air allows for the spinning of cotton with little breakage.   The cotton industry was to provide the catalyst for the town’s expansion between the 14th and 19th centuries.

Large, steam-powered textile mills eventually dominated the town’s skyline, providing the major employment and defining the rhythm of the working week, so much so that an annual shut-down for maintenance in late June became the Bolton holidays.   There were also some large iron foundries in the town as well as other engineering works, many connected with the cotton industry.   The Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal connected the town to Bury and Manchester.

The Bolton and Leigh Railway was one of the oldest in Lancashire, opening to goods traffic in 1828 and to passengers in 1831.  Bolton was Worktown in the Mass-Observation project which has left us with many photographs taken around the town by Humphrey Spender as part of that project.

UK Hub Bolton Greater Manchester