# 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.

## History

Blackrod was a township and chapelry in the civil and ecclesiastical parish of Bolton le Moors in the Salford Hundred of Lancashire. 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. In 1866, Blackrod was given the status of a civil parish.
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, and a local board was created to provide for the water supply and drainage of the township. 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.
Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1894, Blackrod Local Board was transformed into an elected urban district council of nine members. Blackrod Urban District Council had three electoral wards: Central, North, and South, each represented by three councillors.
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.

## Demography

| 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. Urban District (UD) 1901–1971. :

## Lists of office holders
### Chairmen of Blackrod Local Board

Chairmen of Blackrod Local Board :
| Name | 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): |||||

### Chairmen of Blackrod Urban District Council

Chairmen of Blackrod Urban District Council :
| Name | 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): |||||