 Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, Royton formed part of the Oldham Poor Law Union, an inter-parish unit established to provide social security. Royton's first was a local board of health established in 1863; Royton Local Board of Health was a regulatory body responsible for standards of hygiene and sanitation in the township. In 1871 Royton was noted as a large village-chapelry, and a sub-district of the Oldham registration district. In 1879, a part of the neighbouring township of Thornham was amalgamated into the area of the local board. Following the Local Government Act 1894, the area of the Local Board became the Royton Urban District, a local government district within the administrative county of Lancashire. The urban district council was based in Royton Town Hall, which had been purpose built for the local board in 1880. In 1933, a part of the neighbouring Municipal Borough of Middleton was transferred to Royton Urban District. Under the Local Government Act 1972, the Royton Urban District was abolished, and Royton has, since 1 April 1974, formed an unparished area of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, a local government district of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester. Royton has two of the twenty wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham: Royton North and Royton South.
