# Boroughs incorporated in England and Wales 1882–1974

The following is a list of towns in England and Wales which were granted charters of incorporation conferring borough status under the Municipal Corporations Act 1882 or the Local Government Act 1933.

## 1882–89

Forty-five boroughs were incorporated in this period. Of this number, more than half (twenty-five) were unreformed boroughs listed in the schedule to the Municipal Corporations Act 1883. This act abolished all such boroughs unless they obtained a new charter by 1886. Among the remaining 21 boroughs most were industrial centres or resorts. Also incorporated were two county towns: Chelmsford and Taunton, and two areas of suburban London, Croydon and West Ham.
| Municipal Borough | County | Created | Abolished | Successor(s) |
| Bacup MB | Lancashire | 1882 | 1974 | Rossendale |
| Keighley MB | Yorkshire (1882–89), West Riding of Yorkshire (1889-1974) | 1882 | 1974 | Bradford |
| West Bromwich MB | Staffordshire | 1882 | 1889 | West Bromwich CB |
| Bangor MB† | Caernarfonshire | 1883 | 1974 | Arfon |
| Croydon MB | Surrey | 1883 | 1889 | Croydon CB |
| Eastbourne MB | Sussex (1883–89), East Sussex (1889-1911) | 1883 | 1911 | Eastbourne CB |
| Henley-on-Thames MB | Oxfordshire | 1883 | 1974 | South Oxfordshire |
| Workington MB | Cumberland | 1883 | 1974 | Allerdale |
| Harrogate MB | Yorkshire (1884–89), West Riding of Yorkshire (1889-1974) | 1884 | 1974 | Harrogate |
| Lampeter MB† | Cardiganshire | 1884 | 1974 | Ceredigion |
| Ramsgate MB | Kent | 1884 | 1974 | Thanet |
| Aldeburgh MB† | Suffolk (1884–89), East Suffolk (1889-1974) | 1884 | 1974 | Suffolk Coastal |
| Appleby MB† | Westmorland | 1885 | 1974 | Eden |
| Bishop's Castle MB | Shropshire | 1885 | 1967 | absorbed by Clun RD (Rural Borough) |
| Kidwelly MB† | Carmarthenshire | 1885 | 1974 | Llanelli |
| Llanfyllin MB† | Montgomeryshire | 1885 | 1974 | Montgomery |
| Lostwithiel MB† | Cornwall | 1885 | 1967 | absorbed by St Austell RD (Rural Borough) |
| Lowestoft MB | Suffolk (1885–89), East Suffolk (1889-1974) | 1885 | 1974 | Waveney |
| Lydd MB† | Kent | 1885 | 1974 | Shepway |
| Montgomery MB† | Montgomeryshire | 1885 | 1974 | Montgomery |
| Morley MB | Yorkshire (1885–89), West Riding of Yorkshire (1889-1974) | 1885 | 1974 | Leeds |
| Mossley MB | Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire (1885–89), Lancashire (1889-1974) | 1885 | 1974 | Tameside |
| New Romney MB† | Kent | 1885 | 1974 | Shepway |
| Okehampton MB† | Devon | 1885 | 1974 | West Devon |
| Queenborough MB† | Kent | 1885 | 1968 | Queenborough-in-Sheppey MB |
| Saltash MB† | Cornwall | 1885 | 1974 | Caradon |
| Sutton Coldfield MB (Royal Town)† | Warwickshire | 1885 | 1974 | Birmingham |
| Taunton MB | Somerset | 1885 | 1974 | Taunton Deane |
| Wilton MB† | Wiltshire | 1885 | 1974 | Salisbury |
| Wokingham MB† | Berkshire | 1885 | 1974 | Wokingham |
| Brackley MB† | Northamptonshire | 1886 | 1974 | South Northamptonshire |
| Christchurch MB† | Hampshire | 1886 | 1974 | Christchurch |
| Higham Ferrers MB† | Northamptonshire | 1886 | 1974 | East Northamptonshire |
| Malmesbury MB† | Wiltshire | 1886 | 1974 | North Wiltshire |
| Middleton MB | Lancashire | 1886 | 1974 | Rochdale |
| Wareham MB† | Dorset | 1886 | 1974 | Purbeck |
| Wednesbury MB | Staffordshire | 1886 | 1966 | absorbed by Walsall CB and West Bromwich CB |
| West Ham MB | Essex | 1886 | 1889 | West Ham CB |
| Woodstock MB† | Oxfordshire | 1886 | 1974 | West Oxfordshire |
| Cowbridge MB | Glamorganshire | 1887 | 1974 | Vale of Glamorgan |
| Ilkeston MB | Derbyshire | 1887 | 1974 | Erewash |
| West Hartlepool MB | County Durham | 1887 | 1902 | West Hartlepool CB |
| Chelmsford MB | Essex | 1888 | 1974 | Chelmsford |
| Loughborough MB | Leicestershire | 1888 | 1974 | Charnwood |
| Tunbridge Wells MB (1889-1909), Royal Tunbridge Wells MB (1909-1974) | Kent | 1889 | 1974 | Tunbridge Wells |
† Listed in the schedule of the Municipal Corporations Act 1883.

## 1890–99

Twenty-five boroughs were incorporated in 1890s.
| Municipal Borough | County | Created | Abolished | Successor(s) |
| Bournemouth MB | Hampshire | 1890 | 1900 | Bournemouth CB |
| Chatham MB | Kent | 1890 | 1974 | Rochester-upon-Medway |
| Nelson MB | Lancashire | 1890 | 1974 | Pendle |
| Ossett MB | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1890 | 1974 | Wakefield |
| Richmond MB | Surrey | 1890 | 1965 | Richmond upon Thames |
| Worthing MB | West Sussex | 1890 | 1974 | Worthing |
| Haslingden MB | Lancashire | 1891 | 1974 | Rossendale |
| Mansfield MB | Nottinghamshire | 1891 | 1974 | Mansfield |
| Rawtenstall MB | Lancashire | 1891 | 1974 | Rossendale |
| Eccles MB | Lancashire | 1892 | 1974 | Salford |
| Southend-on-Sea MB | Essex | 1892 | 1914 | Southend-on-Sea CB |
| Thornaby-on-Tees MB | North Riding of Yorkshire | 1892 | 1968 | Teesside CB |
| Torquay MB | Devon | 1892 | 1967 | Torbay CB |
| Widnes MB | Lancashire | 1892 | 1974 | Halton |
| Brighouse MB | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1893 | 1974 | Calderdale |
| Whitehaven MB | Cumberland | 1894 | 1974 | Copeland |
| Colne MB | Lancashire | 1895 | 1974 | Pendle |
| Todmorden MB | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1896 | 1974 | Calderdale |
| Hemel Hempstead MB | Hertfordshire | 1898 | 1974 | Dacorum |
| Hove MB | East Sussex | 1898 | 1974 | Hove |
| Abergavenny MB | Monmouthshire | 1899 | 1974 | Monmouth |
| Bridlington MB | East Riding of Yorkshire | 1899 | 1974 | North Wolds |
| Dukinfield MB | Cheshire | 1899 | 1974 | Tameside |
| Leigh MB | Lancashire | 1899 | 1974 | Wigan |
| Smethwick MB | Staffordshire | 1899 | 1907 | Smethwick CB |

## 1900–09

There were 14 incorporations in the years 1900–1909. 1900 also saw the creation of 28 Metropolitan Boroughs in the County of London by the London Government Act 1899.
| Municipal Borough | County | Created | Abolished | Successor(s) |
| Pudsey MB | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1900 | 1974 | Leeds |
| Swindon MB | Wiltshire | 1900 | 1974 | Thamesdown |
| Ealing MB | Middlesex | 1901 | 1965 | Ealing |
| Wallsend MB | Northumberland | 1901 | 1974 | North Tyneside |
| Bexhill MB | East Sussex | 1902 | 1974 | Rother |
| Morecambe MB (1902–28), Morecambe and Heysham MB (1928-74) | Lancashire | 1902 | 1974 | Lancaster |
| Aston Manor MB | Warwickshire | 1903 | 1911 | absorbed by Birmingham CB |
| Bromley MB | Kent | 1903 | 1965 | Bromley |
| Gillingham MB | Kent | 1903 | 1974 | Gillingham |
| Hornsey MB | Middlesex | 1903 | 1965 | Haringey |
| East Ham MB | Essex | 1904 | 1915 | East Ham CB |
| Merthyr Tydfil MB | Glamorganshire | 1905 | 1908 | Merthyr Tydfil CB |
| Wimbledon MB | Surrey | 1905 | 1965 | Merton |
| Nuneaton MB | Warwickshire | 1907 | 1974 | Nuneaton |

## 1910–19

There were only seven incorporations in this period. In fact, the number of boroughs only increased by one, as six boroughs were abolished. Stoke-on-Trent was an amalgam of four boroughs: Burslem, Hanley, Longton and Stoke upon Trent (and two urban districts); Aston Manor was absorbed by Birmingham in 1911; and Devonport by Plymouth in 1914.
| Municipal Borough | County | Created | Abolished | Successor(s) |
| Wallasey MB | Cheshire | 1910 | 1913 | Wallasey CB |
| Fowey MB | Cornwall | 1913 | 1968 | St Austell with Fowey MB |
| Llanelly MB (1913–66), Llanelli MB (1966-74) | Carmarthenshire | 1913 | 1974 | Llanelli |
| Stourbridge MB | Worcestershire | 1914 | 1974 | Dudley |
| Aylesbury MB | Buckinghamshire | 1917 | 1974 | Aylesbury Vale |
| Buxton MB | Derbyshire | 1917 | 1974 | High Peak |

## 1920–29

Eleven boroughs were incorporated in the 1920s. This only represented a net increase of ten, however as Port Talbot was formed from the merger of the borough of Aberavon and the urban district of Margam.
| Municipal Borough | County | Created | Abolished | Successor(s) |
| Acton MB | Middlesex | 1921 | 1965 | Ealing |
| Port Talbot MB | Glamorganshire | 1921 | 1974 | Afan |
| Redcar MB | North Riding of Yorkshire | 1921 | 1968 | Teesside CB |
| Aldershot MB | Hampshire | 1922 | 1974 | Rushmoor |
| Blyth MB | Northumberland | 1922 | 1974 | Blyth Valley |
| Gosport MB | Hampshire | 1922 | 1974 | Gosport |
| Lytham St Annes MB | Lancashire | 1922 | 1974 | Fylde |
| Watford MB | Hertfordshire | 1922 | 1974 | Watford |
| Ilford MB | Essex | 1926 | 1965 | Redbridge |
| Leyton MB | Essex | 1926 | 1965 | Waltham Forest |
| Twickenham MB | Middlesex | 1926 | 1965 | Richmond upon Thames |
| Walthamstow MB | Essex | 1929 | 1965 | Waltham Forest |

## 1930–39

There were fifty-three incorporations of boroughs in this period.
| Municipal Borough | County | Created | Abolished | Successor(s) |
| Barking MB | Essex | 1931 | 1965 | Barking, Newham |
| Worksop MB | Nottinghamshire | 1931 | 1974 | Bassetlaw |
| Barnes MB | Surrey | 1932 | 1965 | Richmond upon Thames |
| Brentford and Chiswick MB | Middlesex | 1932 | 1965 | Hounslow |
| Hendon MB | Middlesex | 1932 | 1965 | Barnet |
| Heston and Isleworth MB | Middlesex | 1932 | 1965 | Hounslow |
| Rugby MB | Warwickshire | 1932 | 1974 | Rugby |
| Bilston MB | Staffordshire | 1933 | 1966 | absorbed by Walsall CB, West Bromwich CB and Wolverhampton CB |
| Dartford MB | Kent | 1933 | 1974 | Dartford |
| Finchley MB | Middlesex | 1933 | 1965 | Barnet |
| Fleetwood MB | Lancashire | 1933 | 1974 | Wyre |
| Goole MB | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1933 | 1974 | Boothferry |
| Rowley Regis MB | Staffordshire | 1933 | 1966 | absorbed by Dudley CB, Halesowen MB, Warley CB and West Bromwich CB |
| Southgate MB | Middlesex | 1933 | 1965 | Enfield |
| Stretford MB | Lancashire | 1933 | 1974 | Trafford |
| Willesden MB | Middlesex | 1933 | 1965 | Brent |
| Wood Green MB | Middlesex | 1933 | 1965 | Haringey |
| Colwyn Bay MB | Denbighshire | 1934 | 1974 | Colwyn |
| Mitcham MB | Surrey | 1934 | 1965 | Merton |
| Sutton and Cheam MB | Surrey | 1934 | 1965 | Sutton |
| Swinton and Pendlebury MB | Lancashire | 1934 | 1974 | Salford |
| Tottenham MB | Middlesex | 1934 | 1965 | Haringey |
| Beckenham MB | Kent | 1935 | 1965 | Bromley |
| Oldbury MB | Worcestershire | 1935 | 1966 | absorbed by Halesowen MB, Warley CB and West Bromwich CB |
| Radcliffe MB | Lancashire | 1935 | 1974 | Bury |
| Sale MB | Cheshire | 1935 | 1974 | Trafford |
| Cleethorpes MB | Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey | 1936 | 1974 | Cleethorpes |
| Eastleigh MB | Hampshire | 1936 | 1974 | Eastleigh |
| Halesowen MB | Worcestershire | 1936 | 1974 | Dudley |
| Malden and Coombe MB | Surrey | 1936 | 1965 | Kingston upon Thames |
| Scunthorpe MB | Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey | 1936 | 1974 | Scunthorpe |
| Southall MB | Middlesex | 1936 | 1965 | Ealing |
| Surbiton MB | Surrey | 1936 | 1965 | Kingston upon Thames |
| Altrincham MB | Cheshire | 1937 | 1974 | Trafford |
| Bebington MB | Cheshire | 1937 | 1974 | Wirral |
| Beddington and Wallington MB | Surrey | 1937 | 1965 | Sutton |
| Bexley MB | Kent | 1937 | 1965 | Bexley |
| Crosby MB | Lancashire | 1937 | 1974 | Sefton |
| Edmonton MB | Middlesex | 1937 | 1965 | Enfield |
| Epsom and Ewell MB | Surrey | 1937 | 1974 | Epsom and Ewell |
| Romford MB | Essex | 1937 | 1965 | Havering |
| Wanstead and Woodford MB | Essex | 1937 | 1965 | Redbridge |
| Wembley MB | Middlesex | 1937 | 1965 | Brent |
| Weston-super-Mare MB | Somerset | 1937 | 1974 | Woodspring |
| Chingford MB | Essex | 1938 | 1965 | Waltham Forest |
| Dagenham MB | Essex | 1938 | 1965 | Barking, Redbridge |
| Erith MB | Kent | 1938 | 1965 | Bexley |
| Kettering MB | Northamptonshire | 1938 | 1974 | Kettering |
| Slough MB | Buckinghamshire | 1938 | 1974 | Slough |
| Tipton MB | Staffordshire | 1938 | 1966 | absorbed by Dudley CB, Warley CB and West Bromwich CB |
| Barry MB | Glamorganshire | 1938 | 1974 | Vale of Glamorgan |
| Farnworth MB | Lancashire | 1939 | 1974 | Bolton |
| Prestwich MB | Lancashire | 1939 | 1974 | Bury |

## 1939–54: a halt to incorporations

The incorporations of Farnworth and Prestwich in 1939 were to be the last for fifteen years.
Initially a halt was put to the creation of new boroughs for the duration of the 1939–1945 war. The Local Elections and Register of Electors (Temporary Provisions) Act 1939, a piece of emergency war time legislation, provided that no changes could be made to the status or boundaries of local government areas. The legislation was renewed on an annual basis until 1945.
With the ending of hostilities a Local Government Boundary Commission was appointed in October 1945 to review the entire structure of local administration. While the review was being held, no petitions for incorporation were made.
The commission was abolished without completing its work in 1949, and following a change of government in 1951, new applications for incorporation were again accepted.

## 1954–55

Nine towns were incorporated in the years 1954 and 1955.
| Municipal Borough | County | Created | Abolished | Successor(s) |
| Harrow MB | Middlesex | 1954 | 1965 | Harrow |
| Solihull MB | Warwickshire | 1954 | 1964 | Solihull CB |
| Whitley Bay MB | Northumberland | 1954 | 1974 | North Tyneside, Blyth Valley |
| Castleford MB | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1955 | 1974 | Wakefield |
| Ellesmere Port MB | Cheshire | 1955 | 1974 | Ellesmere Port |
| Enfield MB | Middlesex | 1955 | 1965 | Enfield |
| Rhondda MB | Glamorganshire | 1955 | 1974 | Rhondda |
| Spenborough MB | West Riding of Yorkshire | 1955 | 1974 | Kirklees |
| Uxbridge MB | Middlesex | 1955 | 1965 | Hillingdon |

## 1956–74

The only new municipal boroughs were created by amalgamation of existing corporations in this period. In fact there was a decrease in the number of municipalities as various local government changes were made.
* In 1961 the boroughs of Huntingdon and Godmanchester were merged.
* In 1965 forty-two boroughs (including three county boroughs) were abolished when they were constituted part of Greater London. These were: Acton, Barking, Barnes, Beckenham, Beddington and Wallington, Bexley, Brentford and Chiswick, Bromley, Chingford, Croydon CB, Dagenham, Ealing, East Ham CB, Edmonton, Enfield, Erith, Finchley, Harrow, Hendon, Heston and Isleworth, Hornsey, Ilford, Kingston upon Thames, Leyton, Malden and Coombe, Mitcham, Richmond (Surrey), Romford, Southall, Southgate, Surbiton, Sutton and Cheam, Tottenham, Twickenham, Uxbridge, Walthamstow, Wanstead and Woodford, Wembley, West Ham CB, Willesden, Wimbledon and Wood Green.
* In 1966 six boroughs in the Black Country were abolished: Bilston, Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, Tipton, Wednesbury, while the new county borough of Warley was created.
* In 1967 the borough of Torquay was absorbed by the new county borough of Torbay, while six boroughs were merged with rural districts to become "rural boroughs". The boroughs involved were Bishop's Castle, Bridgnorth, Lostwithiel, Ludlow, Much Wenlock and Oswestry. The county borough of West Hartlepool merged with the non-county borough of Hartlepool to form a new county borough of Hartlepool.
* In 1968 Queenborough became part of the larger borough of Queenborough-in-Sheppey, and Fowey part of the borough of St. Austell with Fowey. The new county borough of Teesside absorbed the four boroughs of Middlesbrough, Redcar, Stockton-on-Tees and Thornaby-on-Tees. The borough of South Molton was also absorbed into the rural district of the same name.
| Municipal Borough | County | Created | Abolished | Successor(s) |
| Huntingdon and Godmanchester MB | Huntingdonshire (1961–65), Huntingdon and Peterborough (1965–74) | 1961 | 1974 | Huntingdon |
| St Austell with Fowey MB | Cornwall | 1968 | 1974 | Restormel |
| Queenborough-in-Sheppey MB | Kent | 1968 | 1974 | Swale |

## Unsuccessful petitions for incorporation

In order for a town to be incorporated as a borough, a petition was submitted to the privy council for consideration. Although the majority of petitions were successful, a number of applications were not. Petitions seeking incorporation were recorded in The London Gazette, and the following is a list of petitions listed in the Gazette in the period 1882 to 1955 that did not lead to the grant of a charter:
| Scheme area (urban district unless stated otherwise) | County | Gazette Date | Notes |
| Castleford | Yorkshire, West Riding | 31 January 1893 | Gained incorporation in 1955 |
| Brentford | Middlesex | 17 March 1893 | Gained incorporation as Brentford and Chiswick in 1932 |
| Ealing | Middlesex | 17 March 1893 | |
| Aylesbury | Buckinghamshire | 19 May 1893 | Gained incorporation in 1917 |
| Llandudno | Caernarvonshire | 27 June 1893 | |
| Parish of St Margaret and St John, Westminster | County of London | 19 January 1897 | Became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster in 1900 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | Glamorgan | 21 May 1897 | Gained incorporation in 1905 |
| Cleethorpes | Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey | 9 July 1897 | Gained incorporation in 1936 |
| Parish of Kensington | County of London | 9 July 1897 | Became a metropolitan borough in 1900 |
| Cleckheaton | Yorkshire, West Riding | 13 October 1897 | |
| Heckmondwike | Yorkshire, West Riding | 13 October 1897 | |
| Liversedge | Yorkshire, West Riding | 15 October 1897 | |
| Shipley | Yorkshire, West Riding | 20 May 1898 | |
| Ealing | Middlesex | 12 August 1898 | Second petition. Gained incorporation in 1901 |
| Leyton | Essex | 21 October 1898 | Gained incorporation in 1926 |
| Chiswick | Middlesex | 15 May 1900 | Gained incorporation as Brentford and Chiswick in 1932 |
| Stretford | Lancashire | 25 March 1902 | Gained incorporation in 1933 |
| Wood Green | Middlesex | 20 October 1908 | Gained incorporation in 1933 |
| UDs of Eston, South Bank in Normanby and the parish of Normanby | Yorkshire, North Riding | 21 February 1912 | |
| Hebburn | Durham | 17 January 1912 | |
| Hebburn | Durham | 18 December 1925 | Second petition |
| Eston | Yorkshire, North Riding | 18 December 1925 | Second petition |
| Pontypridd | Glamorgan | 18 December 1925 | |
| Hoylake and West Kirby | Cheshire | 18 December 1925 | |
| Cannock | Staffordshire | 16 November 1934 | |
| Penge | Kent | 27 February 1934 | |
| Newton-in-Makerfield | Lancashire | 10 October 1933 | |
| Harrow | Middlesex | 19 November 1935 | Gained incorporation in 1954 |
| Woking | Surrey | 10 April 1936 | |
| Coseley | Staffordshire | 20 August 1937 | |
| Carshalton | Surrey | 15 October 1937 | |
| Coulsdon and Purley | Surrey | 1 February 1938 | |
| Bingley | Yorkshire, West Riding | 14 June 1938 | |
| Huyton-with-Roby | Lancashire | 23 November 1951 | |
| Brierley Hill | Staffordshire | 26 February 1952 | |
| Staines | Middlesex | 21 April 1952 | |
| Haltemprice | Yorkshire, East Riding | 8 April 1952 | |
| Bognor Regis | West Sussex | 27 May 1952 | |
| Hinckley | Leicestershire | 22 August 1952 | |
| Willenhall | Staffordshire | 26 September 1952 | |
| Long Eaton | Derbyshire | 2 September 1952 | |
| Beeston and Stapleford | Nottinghamshire | 6 January 1953 | |
| Colne Valley | Yorkshire, West Riding | 27 January 1953 | |
| Ruislip-Northwood | Middlesex | 24 February 1953 | |
| Farnborough | Hampshire | 21 April 1953 | |
| Leek | Staffordshire | 22 May 1953 | |
| Malvern | Worcestershire | 23 June 1953 | |
| Urmston | Lancashire | 30 June 1953 | |
| Friern Barnet | Middlesex | 3 July 1953 | |
| Carshalton | Surrey | 25 August 1953 | Second petition |
| Cannock | Staffordshire | 11 September 1953 | Second petition |
| Hayes and Harlington | Middlesex | 2 March 1954 | |
| Sutton-in-Ashfield | Nottinghamshire | 9 March 1954 | |
| Paignton | Devon | 21 May 1954 | |
| Pontypridd | Glamorgan | 16 July 1954 | Second petition |
| Cheadle and Gatley | Cheshire | 15 February 1955 | |
| Hornchurch | Essex | 20 May 1955 | |
| Farnham | Surrey | 25 November 1955 | |
| Woking | Surrey | 13 December 1955 | Second petition |
The 1955 petition by Woking was the last application before reorganisation of local government in 1965 and 1974.