# Unreformed boroughs in England and Wales 1835–1886

Unreformed boroughs were those corporate towns in England and Wales which had not been reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. A handful of these obtained new charters under the 1835 Act. A royal commission was established in 1876 to inquire into these boroughs, and legislation passed in 1883 finally forced the reform or dissolution of these corporations by 1886.

## Boroughs reformed 1835–1881

Only nine unreformed boroughs obtained new charters under the 1835 Act:
| Borough | Year |
| Honiton, Devon | 1846 |
| Hartlepool, County Durham | 1850 |
| Yeovil, Somerset | 1854 |
| Aberavon, Glamorgan | 1861 |
| Hedon, Yorkshire | 1861 |
| Reigate, Surrey | 1863 |
| Dunstable, Bedfordshire | 1864 |
| Conwy (Conway), Caernarfonshire | 1877 |
| Lewes, Sussex | 1881 |
Three other towns incorporated in this period are sometimes listed as unreformed boroughs. The first of these was Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, incorporated in 1847. Although it may have had an existence as a municipality, it had ceased to exist by the nineteenth century. Peterborough, in Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire, was incorporated in 1874. The town was governed by officials of the dean and diocese of Peterborough. Taunton, in Somerset, whose charter had been nullified in 1792 due to a failure to fill vacancies in the corporation, continued as a parliamentary borough and the town was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1877.

## The Royal Commission of 1876

A royal commission was appointed in 1876 which investigated the unreformed boroughs and made recommendations on which towns might be brought under the Municipal Corporations Act. The commissioners identified 75 towns with corporations still functioning, and recommended that 26 of them should be reformed, the others being abolished. They also named a further 32 towns in which the corporation had become extinct, although the boroughs still had a legal existence. Of these, 10 had ceased to operate since 1835. The commissioners’ report was not acted upon for seven years. In the meantime, one of the towns they considered suitable for municipal government, Lewes was reformed, and the 1835 legislation was replaced by the Municipal Corporations Act 1882.

## Municipal Corporations Act 1883

The Municipal Corporations Act 1883 provided for the abolition of unreformed borough corporations, unless they obtained a new charter under the 1882 legislation.
Section 3 stated that “The place shall not be a corporate town or borough, and any municipal or other corporation thereof existing shall be dissolved” if a new charter had not been obtained by 29 September 1886.
The first and second schedules listed the corporations investigated by the 1876 commission. The successors are municipal boroughs, local government districts, rural sanitary districts and improvement commissioners districts.
| Corporation or reputed corporation | County | Commissioners’ report | Fate of corporation | Successor |
| Aldeburgh | Suffolk | Recommended reform | Reformed 1885 | Aldeburgh MB |
| Alnwick | Northumberland | Recommended reform | Abolished 1886 | Alnwick LGD |
| Alresford | Hampshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Alresford RSD |
| Altrincham | Cheshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | Altrincham LGD |
| Appleby | Westmorland | Recommended reform | Reformed 1885 | Appleby MB |
| Axbridge | Somerset | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Axbridge RSD |
| Bala | Merionethshire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | Bala LGD |
| Bangor | Caernarfonshire | Long extinct | Reformed 1883 | Bangor MB |
| Berkeley | Gloucestershire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Thornbury RSD |
| Bishops Castle | Shropshire | Recommended reform | Reformed 1885 | Bishop's Castle MB |
| Bossiney | Cornwall | Extinct since 1835 | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Camelford RSD |
| Bovey Tracey | Devon | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Newton Abbot RSD |
| Brackley | Northamptonshire | Recommended abolition | Reformed 1886 | Brackley MB |
| Brading | Hampshire (Isle of Wight) | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Isle of Wight RSD |
| Bradninch | Devon | Recommended reform | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Tiverton RSD |
| Bridlington | Yorkshire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | Bridlington LGD |
| Caerwys | Flintshire | Extinct since 1835 | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Holywell RSD |
| Camelford | Cornwall | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Camelford RSD |
| Castle Rising | Norfolk | Extinct since 1835 | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Freebridge Lynn RSD |
| Chipping Campden | Gloucestershire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Shipston on Stour RSD |
| Chipping Sodbury | Gloucestershire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Chipping Sodbury RSD |
| Christchurch | Hampshire | Recommended reform | Reformed 1886 | Christchurch MB |
| Clun | Shropshire | Extinct since 1835 | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Clun RSD |
| Corfe Castle | Dorset | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Wareham & Purbeck RSD |
| Cowbridge | Glamorganshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Bridgend & Cowbridge RSD |
| Criccieth | Caernarfonshire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | Criccieth ICD |
| Crickhowell | Brecknockshire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Crickhowell RSD |
| Dinas Mawddwy | Merionethshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Dolgelley RSD |
| Dunwich | Suffolk | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Blything RSD |
| Dursley | Gloucestershire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Dursley RSD |
| East Looe | Cornwall | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Liskeard RSD |
| Farnham | Surrey | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | Farnham LGD |
| Fishguard | Pembrokeshire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Haverfordwest RSD |
| Fordwich | Kent | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Bridge RSD |
| Garstang | Lancashire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Garstang RSD |
| Grampound | Cornwall | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by St Austell RSD |
| Great Dunmow | Essex | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Dunmow RSD |
| Harlech | Merionethshire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Ffestiniog RSD |
| Harton | Devon | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Bideford RSD |
| Hay | Brecknockshire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Hay RSD |
| Havering-atte-Bower | Essex | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Romford RSD |
| Henley-on-Thames | Oxfordshire | Recommended reform | Reformed 1883 | Henley-on-Thames MB |
| Higham Ferrers | Northamptonshire | Recommended abolition | Reformed 1886 | Higham Ferrers MB |
| Holt | Denbighshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Wrexham RSD |
| Ilchester | Somerset | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Yeovil RSD |
| Kenfig | Glamorganshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Bridgend & Cowbridge RSD |
| Kidwelly | Carmarthenshire | Recommended reform | Reformed 1885 | Kidwelly MB |
| Kilgerran | Pembrokeshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Cardigan RSD |
| Lampeter | Cardiganshire | Recommended abolition | Reformed 1884 | Lampeter MB |
| Langport Eastover | Somerset | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Langport RSD |
| Laugharne | Carmarthenshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Carmarthen RSD |
| Llanelly | Carmarthenshire | Extinct since 1835 | Abolished 1886 | Llanelly LGD |
| Llanfyllin | Montgomeryshire | Recommended reform | Reformed 1885 | Llanfyllin MB |
| Llantrisant | Glamorganshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Pontypridd RSD |
| Lostwithiel | Cornwall | Recommended reform | Reformed 1885 | Lostwithiel MB |
| Loughor | Glamorganshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Llanelly RSD |
| Lydd | Kent | Recommended reform | Reformed 1885 | Lydd MB |
| Machynlleth | Montgomeryshire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Machynlleth RSD |
| Malmesbury | Wiltshire | Recommended reform | Reformed 1886 | Malmesbury MB |
| Marazion | Cornwall | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Penzance RSD |
| Midhurst | Sussex | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Midhurst RSD |
| Montgomery | Montgomeryshire | Recommended reform | Reformed 1885 | Montgomery MB |
| Nevin | Caernarfonshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Pwllheli RSD |
| New Romney | Kent | Recommended reform | Reformed 1885 | New Romney MB |
| Newborough | Anglesey | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Carnarvon RSD |
| Newport | Shropshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | Newport LGD |
| Newport | Pembrokeshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Cardigan RSD |
| Newton | Lancashire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | Newton in Makerfield LGD |
| Newtown | Hampshire (Isle of Wight) | Extinct since 1835 | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Isle of Wight RSD |
| Okehampton | Devon | Recommended reform | Reformed 1885 | Okehampton MB |
| Orford | Suffolk | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Plomesgate RSD |
| Over | Cheshire | Recommended reform | Abolished 1886 | Winsford LGD |
| Overton | Flintshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Ellesmere RSD |
| Petersfield | Hampshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Petersfield RSD |
| Pevensey | Sussex | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Eastbourne RSD |
| Plympton Earle | Devon | Extinct since 1835 | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Plympton St Mary RSD |
| Presteigne | Radnorshire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Knighton RSD |
| Rhuddlan | Flintshire | Extinct since 1835 | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by St Asaph RSD |
| Queenborough | Kent | Recommended reform | Reformed 1885 | Queenborough MB |
| Radnor | Radnorshire | Recommended reform | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Kington RSD |
| Romney Marsh | Kent | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Romney Marsh RSD |
| Ruyton | Shropshire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Oswestry RSD |
| St Clears | Carmarthenshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Carmarthen RSD |
| St David's | Pembrokeshire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Haverfordwest RSD |
| Saltash | Cornwall | Recommended reform | Reformed 1885 | Saltash MB |
| Seaford | Sussex | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | Seaford LGD |
| Sutton Coldfield | Warwickshire | Recommended reform | Reformed 1885 | Sutton Coldfield MB |
| Tavistock | Devon | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Tavistock RSD |
| Thornbury | Gloucestershire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Thornbury RSD |
| Tregony | Cornwall | Extinct since 1835 | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Truro RSD |
| Usk | Monmouthshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | Usk LGD |
| Wareham | Dorset | Recommended reform | Reformed 1886 | Wareham MB |
| Weobley | Herefordshire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Weobley RSD |
| Westbury | Wiltshire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Westbury & Whorwellsdown RSD |
| West Looe | Cornwall | Extinct since 1835 | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Liskeard RSD |
| Wickwar | Gloucestershire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Chipping Sodbury RSD |
| Wilton | Wiltshire | Recommended reform | Reformed 1885 | Wilton MB |
| Winchcomb | Gloucestershire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Winchcomb RSD |
| Winchelsea | Sussex | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Rye RSD |
| Wiston | Pembrokeshire | Long extinct | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Haverfordwest RSD |
| Wokingham | Berkshire | Recommended reform | Reformed 1883 | Wokingham MB |
| Woodstock | Oxfordshire | Recommended reform | Reformed 1886 | Woodstock MB |
| Wootton Bassett | Wiltshire | Recommended reform | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Cricklade & Wootton Bassett RSD |
| Wotton-under-Edge | Gloucestershire | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Dursley RSD |
| Yarmouth | Hampshire (Isle of Wight) | Recommended abolition | Abolished 1886 | absorbed by Isle of Wight RSD |
* 1 2 3 The offices of mayor of Altrincham, Over and Newport, Pembrokeshire were deemed to be "purely honorary" and were to be allowed to continue to exist. In each case, the mayor was appointed by the lord of the manor and court leet.
A number of the boroughs abolished in 1886 subsequently regained borough status, the earliest being Cowbridge in 1887. When such boroughs were created, however, they were entirely new creations with no claim to the former property of the abolished boroughs.

### Other provisions

The 1886 Act also dealt with a number of other corporations with a status similar to boroughs:
* The Confederation of the Cinque Ports were to retain their privileges in those towns with a reformed corporation. Non-corporate members were to be merged with the county and hundred in which they lay geographically. The corporation of the ancient town of Winchelsea was to become a charitable trust.
* The corporation of the bailiff jurats and commonalty of Romney Marsh was to continue to exist, but would only exercise such non-municipal powers.
* The Liberties Act 1850 would be extended to the Liberty of Havering atte Bower, allowing for its merger with the county of Essex.