# List of mayors of Bolton

This is a list of the Mayors of Bolton in the north west of England. The office of Mayor is a ceremonial, non-political post. As the Borough's First Citizen, the Mayor serves as the civic representative at a wide range of functions and events throughout the local authority.
The Mayors of Bolton have represented three types of local government districts. The Mayors of the Municipal Borough of Bolton 1838–1889, the Mayors of the County Borough of Bolton 1889–1974, and the present Mayors of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton since 1974.
There was also a transitional Mayor / Chairman in 1973–1974 who saw over the dissolution of the County Borough of Bolton and the foundation of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton.

## Mayors of Bolton
### Municipal Borough Mayors

| No. | Mayor | Party | Tenure | Terms | Notes |
| 1 | Charles James Darbishire | Liberal | 1838–1839 | 1 | b.1797 – d.1874. The first Mayor of the Municipal Borough of Bolton. |
| 2 | Robert Heywood | Liberal | 1839–1840 | 1 | b.1786 – d.1868. Father of John Heywood, Mayor of Bolton 1903–05. |
| 3 | James Arrowsmith | Liberal | 1840–1841 | 1 | b.1791 – d.1870. Father of Peter Rothwell Arrowsmith, Mayor of Bolton 1853–55. |
| 4 | Thomas Cullen | Liberal | 1841–1842 | 1 | b.1782 – d.1859. |
| 5 | Robert Walsh | Liberal | 1842–1843 | 1 | b.1791 – d.1873. |
| 6 | Thomas Gregson | Liberal | 1843–1844 | 1 | b.1795 – d.1865. |
| 7 | John Slater | Liberal | 1844–1845 | 1 | b.1798 – d.1861. |
| 8 | Stephen Blair | Conservative | 1845–1846 | 1 | b.1804 – d.1870. Conservative MP for Bolton 1848–52. |
| 9 | James Scowcroft | Conservative | 1846–1847 | 1 | b.1788 – d.1865. |
| 10 | Thomas Ridgeway Bridson | Conservative | 1847–1848 | 1 | b.1795 – d.1863. |
| 11 | Thomas Lever Rushton | Conservative | 1848–1850 | 2 | b.1811 – d.1883. |
| 12 | William Gray | Conservative | 1850–1852 | 2 | b.1814 – d.1895. Conservative MP for Bolton 1857–1874. |
| 13 | John Stones | Conservative | 1852–1853 | 1 | b.c.1804 – d.1859. |
| 14 | Peter Rothwell Arrowsmith | Liberal | 1853–1855 | 2 | b.1816 – d.1890. Son of James Arrowsmith, Mayor of Bolton 1840–41. |
| 15 | James Knowles | Liberal | 1855–1857 | 2 | b.1813 – d.1886. |
| 16 | William Makant | Liberal | 1857–1859 | 2 | b.1807 – d.1880. |
| 17 | John Orton | Liberal | 1859–1860 | 1 | b.1804 – d.1870. |
| 18 | John Harwood | Liberal | 1860–1861 | 1 | b.1802 – d.1875. Brother of Richard Harwood, Mayor of Bolton 1863–64. |
| 19 | James Rawthorne Wolfenden | Liberal | 1861–1863 | 2 | b.1811 – d.1886. Brother of Charles Wolfenden, Mayor of Bolton 1875–77. |
| 20 | Richard Harwood | Liberal | 1863–1864 | 1 | b.1802 – d.1875. Brother of John Harwood, Mayor of Bolton 1860–61, and father of George Harwood, Liberal MP for Bolton 1895–1912. |
| 21 | Richard Stockdale | Liberal | 1864–1866 | 2 | b.1809 – d.1886. |
| 22 | Dr Fergus Ferguson | Liberal | 1866–1867 | 1 | b.1805 – d.1887. |
| 23 | James Barlow | Liberal | 1867–1869 | 2 | b.1821 – d.1887. |
| 24 | Thomas Walmsley | Conservative | 1869–1871 | 2 | b.1812 – d.1890. |
| 25 | William Walter Cannon | Conservative | 1871–1873 | 2 | b.1822 – d.1903. Brother in law of Richard Stockdale, Mayor of Bolton 1864–66. |
| 26 | Jeremiah Marsden | Conservative | 1873–1875 | 2 | b.1820 – d.1877. |
| 27 | Charles Wolfenden | Conservative | 1875–1877 | 2 | b.1826 – d.1884. Brother of James Rawthorne Wolfenden, Mayor of Bolton 1861–1863. |
| 28 | James Greenhalgh | Conservative | 1877–1878 | 1 | b.1822 – d.1881. |
| 29 | Peter Crook Marsden | Conservative | 1878–1879 | 1 | b.1838 – d.1913. |
| 30 | Henry Marriott Richardson | Conservative | 1879–1880 | 1 | b.c.1816 – d.1893. |
| 31 | Joseph Musgrave | Conservative | 1880–1881 | 1 | b.1812 – d.1891. |
| 32 | Thomas Glaister | Conservative | 1881–1882 | 1 | b.1829 – d.1891. Grandfather of Thomas Glaister, Mayor of Bolton 1949–48. |
| 33 | Ebenezer Green Harwood | Conservative | 1882–1884 | 2 | b.1833 – d.1902. |
| 34 | Thomas Fletcher | Conservative | 1884–1887 | 3 | b.1832 – d.1914. |
| 35 | Thomas Moscrop | Conservative | 1887–1888 | 1 | b.1811 – d.1889. |
| 36 | John Barrett | Conservative | 1888–1889 | 1 | b.1842 – d.1908. |

### County Borough Mayors

| No. | Mayor | Party | Tenure | Terms | Notes |
| 1 | John Barrett | Conservative | 1889–1890 | 1 | b.1842 – d.1908. The first Mayor of the County Borough of Bolton. |
| 2 | Matthew Fielding | Conservative | 1890–1891 | 1 | b.1848 – d.1915. |
| 3 | William Nicholson | Conservative | 1891–1894 | 3 | b.1825 – d.1915. |
| 4 | Lt Col. Sir Benjamin Alfred Dobson | Conservative | 1894–1898 | 4 | b.1847 – d.1898. Knighted on the 21 July 1897. Died in office. |
| 5 | William Nicholson | Conservative | 1898–1899 | 2 | b.1825 – d.1915. Acted as caretaker Mayor in 1898, and re-elected the same year. |
| 6 | John Edwin Scowcroft | Conservative | 1899–1901 | 2 | b.1845 – d.1901. Died in office. |
| 7 | William Nicholson | Conservative | 1901 | 1 | b.1825 – d.1915. Acted again as caretaker Mayor in 1901. |
| 8 | John Miles | Conservative | 1901–1903 | 2 | b.1841 – d.1917. |
| 9 | John Heywood | Conservative | 1903–1905 | 2 | b.1849 – d.1910. Son of Robert Heywood, Mayor of Bolton 1839–40. |
| 10 | Colonel George Hesketh | Conservative | 1905–1906 | 1 | b.1853 – d.1930. Appointed High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1918. |
| 11 | Thomas Barlow Tong | Conservative | 1906–1908 | 2 | b.1850 – d.1917. Uncle of Walter Wharton Tong, Mayor of Bolton 1940–41. |
| 12 | William Henry Brown | Conservative | 1908–1909 | 1 | b.1850 – d.1931. |
| 13 | Joseph Tyas Cooper | Liberal | 1909–1911 | 2 | b.1852 – d.1929. |
| 14 | James Young | Conservative | 1911–1913 | 2 | b.1861 – d.1917. |
| 15 | John Turner Brooks | Conservative | 1913–1914 | 1 | b.1836 – d.1918. |
| 16 | James Seddon | Conservative | 1914–1916 | 2 | b.1856 – d.1923. |
| 17 | Sir Knowles Edge | Liberal | 1916–1918 | 2 | b.1854 – d.1931. Knighted on the 12 August 1919. Father of Sir William Edge, Liberal MP for Bolton 1916–23. |
| 18 | Lord Leverhulme | Independent | 1918–1919 | 1 | b.1851 – d.1925. Created Baron Leverhulme in 1917, and Viscount Leverhulme in 1922. He is the only Mayor who was not a Councillor. |
| 19 | Robert Parkinson | Conservative | 1919–1921 | 2 | b.1862 – d.1936. |
| 20 | William Russell | Conservative | 1921–1922 | 1 | b.1859 – d.1937. Conservative MP for Bolton 1922–23. |
| 21 | Alfred Potts | Labour | 1922–1923 | 1 | b.1867 – d.1945. |
| 22 | Edmund Aspinall | Conservative | 1923–1924 | 1 | b.1858 – d.1940. |
| 23 | John Fletcher Steele | Liberal | 1924–1925 | 1 | b.1867 – d.1941. |
| 24 | Percy Knott | Conservative | 1925–1926 | 1 | b.1865 – d.1943. |
| 25 | Sir Thomas Evans Flitcroft | Liberal | 1926–1928 | 2 | b.1861 – d.1938. Knighted in the King's Birthday Honours list 1913. |
| 26 | Frank Cheadle | Labour | 1928–1929 | 1 | b.1885 – d.1940. |
| 27 | Robert Edwards Roberts | Conservative | 1929–1930 | 1 | b.1876 – d.1944. |
| 28 | Henry Warburton | Liberal | 1930–1931 | 1 | b.1865 – d.1936. Nephew of Thomas Warburton, founder of Warburtons the bakers. |
| 29 | George Sykes | Conservative | 1931–1932 | 1 | b.c.1874 – d.1958. |
| 30 | Samuel Lomax | Labour | 1932–1933 | 1 | b.1871 – d.1944. |
| 31 | Dr Ernest Monks | Conservative | 1933–1934 | 1 | b.1871 – d.1941. Father of Dr John Richard Monks, Mayor of Bolton 1970–71. |
| 32 | John Percy Taylor | Liberal | 1934–1935 | 1 | b.1868 – d.1945. Appointed High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1926. |
| 33 | Benjamin Kirkman | Labour | 1935–1936 | 1 | b.c.1864 – d.1953. |
| 34 | James Alfred Russell | Conservative | 1936–1937 | 1 | b.1873 – d.1948. |
| 35 | Thomas Halstead | Labour | 1937–1938 | 1 | |
| 36 | James Entwistle | Conservative | 1938–1939 | 1 | |
| 37 | Charles Harold Beswick | Liberal | 1939–1940 | 1 | b.1874 – d.1945. |
| 38 | Walter Wharton Tong | Conservative | 1940–1941 | 1 | b.1890 – d.1978. Nephew of Thomas Barlow Tong, Mayor of Bolton 1906–08. Knighted on the 11 February 1955. |
| 39 | Alfred Booth | Labour | 1941–1942 | 1 | b.1893 – d.1965. Labour MP for Bolton East 1950–1951. |
| 40 | James Bleakley | Conservative | 1942–1943 | 1 | b.1893 – d.1993. |
| 41 | Fred Bentley | Liberal | 1943–1944 | 1 | |
| 42 | Walter Bradley | Conservative | 1944–1945 | 1 | |
| 43 | Robert Demaine | Labour | 1945–1946 | 1 | b.1874 – d.1948. |
| 44 | Dr Horace Wilfred Taylor | Conservative | 1946–1947 | 1 | |
| 45 | John Henry Hampson | Labour | 1947–1949 | 2 | |
| 46 | Thomas Glaister | Conservative | 1949–1950 | 1 | b.1886 – d.1974. Grandson of Thomas Glaister, Mayor of Bolton 1881–82, and brother-in-law of William Wharton Tong, Mayor of Bolton 1940–41. |
| 47 | Helen Wright | Labour | 1950–1951 | 1 | b.1892 – d.1970. The first female Mayor of Bolton. |
| 48 | Thomas Parry Dunning | Conservative | 1951–1952 | 1 | b.1893 – d.1973. |
| 49 | James Vickers | Labour | 1952–1953 | 1 | b.1895 – d.1972. |
| 50 | James Parkes, | Conservative | 1953–1954 | 1 | b.1893 – d.1980. |
| 51 | Peter Flanagan | Labour | 1954–1955 | 1 | b.1887 – d.1964. |
| 52 | Stanley Entwistle | Conservative | 1955–1956 | 1 | died 1978. |
| 53 | Peter Lowe | Labour | 1956–1957 | 1 | b.1904 – d.1986. |
| 54 | Frank Young | Conservative | 1957–1958 | 1 | b.1904 – d.1977. |
| 55 | Elizabeth Ann Ashmore | Labour | 1958–1959 | 1 | b.1895 – d.1972. |
| 56 | Edwin Taylor | Conservative | 1959–1960 | 1 | b.1905 – d.1973. Conservative MP for Bolton East 1960–64. |
| 57 | James Gradwell | Labour | 1960–1961 | 1 | b.1891 – d.1972. |
| 58 | William Harold Bateson | Conservative | 1961–1962 | 1 | b.1897 – d.1967. |
| 59 | John Arthur Childs | Labour | 1962–1963 | 1 | b.1899 – d.1965. |
| 60 | Thomas Connor | Liberal | 1963–1964 | 1 | |
| 61 | Harry Wood | Conservative | 1964–1965 | 1 | |
| 62 | Charles Henry Lucas | Labour | 1965–1966 | 1 | Awarded a CBE in 1970. |
| 63 | Nora Vickers | Conservative | 1966–1967 | 1 | |
| 64 | Clarence Leat | Labour | 1967–1968 | 1 | b.1892 – d.1973. |
| 65 | Ethel Maisie Ryley | Conservative | 1968–1969 | 1 | |
| 66 | Herbert Glynn | Labour | 1969–1970 | 1 | b.1908 – d.1995. |
| 67 | Dr John Richard Monks | Conservative | 1970–1971 | 1 | b.1911 – d.1985. Son of Dr Ernest Monks, Mayor of Bolton 1933–34. |
| 68 | Arnold Townend | Labour | 1971–1972 | 1 | |
| 69 | Alan Ellis Clarke | Labour | 1972–1973 | 1 | b.1931. Triplet brother of Donald Stewart Clarke, Mayor of Bolton 1977–78. |
| 70 | Henry Devenish | Labour | 1973–1974 | 1 | b.1926 – d.2010. |

### Transitional Mayor

| No. | Mayor | Party | Party | Tenure | Terms | Notes |
| 1 | John Collins Hanscomb | | Conservative | 1973–1974 | 1 | Councillor for Deane cum Heaton Ward. Chairman (1973–1974) and Transitional Mayor (1974) during the dissolution of the County Borough and the foundation of the Metropolitan Borough. |

### Metropolitan Borough Mayors

| No. | Mayor | Party | Tenure | Terms | Notes |
| 1 | Doris Berry | Conservative | 1974–1975 | 1 | b.1912 – d.1992. The first Mayor of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton. |
| 2 | John Arthur Foster | Labour | 1975–1976 | 1 | b.1927 – d.2010. |
| 3 | James Rigby | Conservative | 1976–1977 | 1 | b.1918 – d.1998. |
| 4 | Donald Stewart Clarke | Labour | 1977–1978 | 1 | b.1931 – d.2005. Triplet brother of Alan Ellis Clarke, Mayor of Bolton 1972–73. |
| 5 | Adam Hibbert | Conservative | 1978–1979 | 1 | b.1910 – d.1992. |
| 6 | Elizabeth Olwen Hamer | Labour | 1979–1980 | 1 | b.1928 – d.1995. |
| 7 | James Smith | Conservative | 1980–1981 | 1 | b.1912 – d.1994. |
| 8 | Joseph Wild | Labour | 1981–1982 | 1 | b.1916 – d.1994. |
| 9 | John Collins Hanscomb | Conservative | 1982–1983 | 1 | Councillor for Deane cum Heaton Ward b.1924 – d.2019. Previously Chairman / Transitional Mayor 1973–74. Appointed a CBE in December 1980. |
| 10 | Alan Samuel Brigg | Labour | 1983–1984 | 1 | b.1911 – d.1988. |
| 11 | Barbara Annette Hurst | Conservative | 1984–1985 | 1 | b.1919 – d.2001. Awarded an MBE in 1993. |
| 12 | William Hardman | Labour | 1985–1986 | 1 | b.1939 – d.1999. |
| 13 | Arthur Poulsom | Conservative | 1986–1987 | 1 | b.1913 – d.1988. |
| 14 | William Arthur Robinson | Labour | 1987–1988 | 1 | b.1923 – d.1990. |
| 15 | Brian Melvyn Allanson | Conservative | 1988–1989 | 1 | b.1927. |
| 16 | Kenneth MacIvor | Labour | 1989–1990 | 1 | b.1925 – d.2004. |
| 17 | Geoffrey Smith | Conservative | 1990–1991 | 1 | b.1945. |
| 18 | Gerald Riley | Labour | 1991–1992 | 1 | b.1929. |
| 19 | Ernest Crook | Conservative | 1992–1993 | 1 | b.1927. |
| 20 | Campbell Jocelyn H Benjamin | Labour | 1993–1994 | 1 | b.1914 – d.2004. The first black Mayor of Bolton. Appointed an OBE in 1996. |
| 21 | Thomas Anderton | Labour | 1994–1995 | 1 | Councillor for Daubhill Ward b.1924. |
| 22 | Frank Alan Rushton | Conservative | 1995–1996 | 1 | Councillor for Deane cum Heaton Ward and later for Heaton and Lostock Ward b.1934. |
| 23 | Eric Johnson | Labour | 1996–1997 | 1 | b.1923. Also was Mayor of Blackrod 1988–89 and 1993–94. |
| 24 | Peter Gareth Birch | Labour | 1997–1998 | 1 | b.1948 – d.2001. |
| 25 | Peter Louis Finch | Labour | 1998–1999 | 1 | Councillor for Westhoughton Ward b.1937. Also was Mayor of Westhoughton 1986–87. |
| 26 | John Monaghan | Labour | 1999–2000 | 1 | Councillor for Blackrod Ward b.1936 – d.2008. Also was Mayor of Blackrod 1992–93 and 1997–98. |
| 27 | Alan Wilkinson | Conservative | 2000–2001 | 1 | Councillor for Bromley Cross Ward b.1948. |
| 28 | Kevan James Helsby | Labour | 2001–2002 | 1 | Councillor for Horwich Ward b.1950. Received an MBE in the Millennium honours list. Also was Mayor of Horwich 1987–88 and 2004–05. |
| 29 | John Walsh | Conservative | 2002–2003 | 1 | Councillor for Astley Bridge Ward b.1952. Appointed an OBE in 1994. |
| 30 | Clifford Morris | Labour | 2003–2004 | 1 | Councillor for Halliwell Ward. |
| 31 | Prentice Howarth | Labour | 2004–2005 | 1 | Councillor for Great Lever Ward b.1936. |
| 32 | Frank Richard White | Labour | 2005–2006 | 1 | Councillor for Tonge with the Haulgh Ward b.1940. Labour MP for Bury and Radcliffe 1979–1983. |
| 33 | Walter Hall | Conservative | 2006–2007 | 1 | Councillor for Bradshaw Ward b.1935. |
| 34 | Barbara Olwyn Ronson | Liberal Democrats | 2007–2008 | 1 | Councillor for Horwich North East Ward b.1942. Also was Mayor of Horwich 1996–97. |
| 35 | Anthony Connell | Labour | 2008–2009 | 1 | Councillor for Little Lever and Darcy Lever Ward b.1941. |
| 36 | Norman Critchley | Conservative | 2009–2010 | 1 | Councillor for Bromley Cross Ward b.1938. |
| 37 | John Byrne | Labour | 2010–2011 | 1 | Councillor for Breightmet Ward. |
| 38 | Anthony Noel Spencer | Labour | 2011–2012 | 1 | Councillor for Farnworth Ward. |
| 39 | Guy Harkin | Labour | 2012–2013 | 1 | Councillor for Crompton Ward. |
| 40 | Colin Shaw | Conservative | 2013–2014 | 1 | Councillor for Heaton and Lostock Ward. |
| 41 | Martin Donaghy | Labour | 2014–2015 | 1 | Councillor for Tonge with the Haulgh Ward. |
| 42 | Carole Swarbrick | Liberal Democrats | 2015–2016 | 1 | Councillor for Smithills Ward. |
| 43 | Lynda Byrne | Labour | 2016–2017 | 1 | Councillor for Breightmet Ward. |
| 44 | Roger Hayes | Liberal Democrats | 2017–2018 | 1 | Councillor for Smithills Ward. |
| 45 | Elaine Sherrington | Labour | 2018–2019 | 1 | Councillor for Tonge with the Haulgh Ward. |
| 46 | Hilary Fairclough | Conservative | 2019–2020 | 1 | Councillor for Astley Bridge Ward. |
| 47 | Linda Thomas | Labour | 2020–2022 | 2 | Councillor for Halliwell Ward. Served a two-year term of office due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also was Mayor of Westhoughton 1995–96. |
| 48 | Akhtar Zaman | Labour | 2022–2023 | 1 | Councillor for Halliwell Ward. The first Asian and Muslim Mayor of Bolton. |
| 49 | Mohammed Ayub | Labour | 2023–2024 | 1 | Councillor for Great Lever Ward. |
| 50 | Andrew Morgan | Conservative | 2024–2025 | 1 | Councillor for Heaton, Lostock & Chew Moor Ward. |