Former type of British and Irish local government
A
municipal borough
was a type of
local government
district which existed in
England
and
Wales
between 1836 and 1974, in
Northern Ireland
from 1840 to 1973 and in the
Republic of Ireland
from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in
Scotland
from 1833 to 1975 with the reform of
royal burghs
and creation of
police burghs
.
England and Wales
[
edit
]
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
[
edit
]
Boroughs
had existed in England and Wales since
medieval
times. By the
late Middle Ages
they had come under royal control, with
corporations
established by
royal charter
. These corporations were not popularly elected: characteristically they were self-selecting
oligarchies
, were nominated by tradesmen's
guilds
or were under the control of the
lord of the manor
. A
Royal commission
was appointed in 1833 to investigate the various borough corporations in England and Wales. In all 263 towns were found to have some form of corporation created by charter or in existence
by prescription
. The majority had self-elected common councils, whose members served for life. Where there was an election, the incumbent members of the corporation often effectively nominated the electorate. Eleven boroughs were
manorial
court leets
.
[1]
Following the report of the royal commission, legislation was introduced to reform borough corporations.
The
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
provided for a reformed form of town government, designated a municipal borough. The Act introduced a uniform system of town government in municipal boroughs, with an elected
town council
, consisting of a
mayor
,
aldermen
and
councillors
to oversee many local affairs. The legislation required all municipal corporations to be elected according to a standard franchise, based on property ownership. The Act reformed 178 boroughs with effect from 1 January 1836. At the same time, a procedure was established whereby the inhabitant householders of a town could
petition
the Crown via the
privy council
to grant a
charter of incorporation
, constituting the area a municipal borough.
[2]
The attempts to incorporate large industrial towns such as
Birmingham
,
Bolton
,
Manchester
and
Sheffield
by
Whig
and
Radical
"incorporationists" were bitterly contested by
Tory
"anti-incorporationists".
[3]
The Tory objections to the legality of the charters led to them boycotting elections to the new boroughs until the enactment of the
Borough Charters Confirmation Act 1842
.
[4]
A number of further acts of parliament
[
which?
]
amended the 1835 legislation. All of these were repealed and replaced by the
Municipal Corporations Act 1882
. The 1882 Act and the consolidating
Local Government Act 1933
provided the statutory basis for municipal boroughs up to their abolition. An important change in the 1933 legislation removed the right to petition for incorporation from inhabitant householders. In future, petitions could only be made by existing urban or
rural district
councils.
[5]
The
boroughs unreformed by the Act
were not immediately abolished. Several of them subsequently sought new charters as municipal boroughs; those that did not were finally abolished in 1887 by the Municipal Corporations Act 1886. Only the
City of London Corporation
survived as a local authority in an unreformed state; the City undertook a major reform of its democratic structure in 2005.
In 1873 the Association of Municipal Corporations was formed to represent the interests of the boroughs collectively; its membership included both county and non-county boroughs. The AMC was later to be a strong advocate for expanding county boroughs and unitary local government, and it was at the annual conference of the AMC in 1965 that
Richard Crossman
called for a reform of all local government. This speech eventually led to the
Redcliffe-Maud Report
recommending large unitary councils for all England.
[6]
Corporation and council
[
edit
]
Each municipal borough possessed a corporation uniformly designated as the
Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses
of the town. The only exception was where the borough enjoyed
city status
; in this case "burgesses" became "citizens". In a handful of cities the chief magistrate was granted the further dignity of
lord mayor
.
The corporation was a
body corporate
with perpetual succession, and included all registered electors or "burgesses" of the borough. However, the actual administration was carried out by a town council, which was in effect a committee representative of the community at large. All those eligible to vote were entered in the "burgess roll", which was compiled by the town clerk annually.
[7]
Town councils
[
edit
]
The town council of each municipal borough consisted of a mayor, aldermen, and councillors. The councillors were directly elected by the burgesses for a three-year term, with one-third of their membership retiring each year. Boroughs with a population of more than 6,000 were divided into
wards
with separate elections held in each ward annually.
[8]
One-quarter of the council were
aldermen
, who were elected by the council for a six-year term. Half of the aldermen were elected every third year at the council's annual meeting. It was originally envisaged that the council would choose persons from outside of the municipal body. In practice, however, the aldermanic benches were almost exclusively filled by the promotion of long-serving councillors.
[7]
The mayor of the borough was elected for a one-year term, although he was eligible for re-election indefinitely. Under the original legislation the mayor was required to be a councillor or alderman. The Municipal Corporations Act 1882 empowered the council to elect any suitably qualified inhabitant of the borough as mayor. However, the mayoralty continued to be almost universally conferred on a senior alderman or councillor.
[7]
Municipal elections were originally held on 1 November, with the mayoral election and filling of aldermanic vacancies on 9 November. Elections were cancelled during the
First
and
Second World Wars
, and the November 1948 elections were postponed until May 1949. From that date, municipal elections were held on the second Thursday of May.
[9]
In view of the forthcoming local government reorganisation, the 1972 elections were rescheduled to 4 May, with no elections in 1973 and all sitting councillors and aldermen holding their seats until midnight on 31 March 1974.
[10]
Functions
[
edit
]
The municipal boroughs created under the 1835 Act had powers relating to
electoral registration
, providing a
watch
, making
byelaws
, and holding various civil and criminal courts. The types of courts which could be held depended on whether the borough had been given a separate
commission of the peace
or its own
quarter sessions
; those which had their own quarter sessions were also required to appoint a
coroner
. The mayor was
ex officio
made a
justice of the peace
. The mayor was also required to serve as
returning officer
for parliamentary elections, except in those boroughs which were
counties corporate
, where the borough council appointed a
sheriff
whose duties included serving as returning officer. To fund their work the borough council was allowed to set and collect
rates
.
[11]
Municipal boroughs were not automatically given powers to provide or maintain infrastructure under the 1835 Act. Many boroughs were covered by separate bodies of
improvement commissioners
responsible for matters such as paving, lighting and cleaning streets, supplying water and providing sewers. These improvement commissioners continued to exist alongside the borough councils unless the commissioners chose to transfer their powers to the council.
[12]
From 1848 onwards
local boards
could also be established for providing infrastructure and overseeing public health. Where local board districts were created covering municipal boroughs the borough council was often, but not always, appointed to serve as the local board. In some places it was deemed necessary for the local board district to cover a larger or smaller territory than the borough, in which case a separate local board was elected.
[13]
The overlapping functions of borough councils, improvement commissioners and local boards were gradually consolidated. Many boroughs took over the functions of commissioners or separate local boards under the Public Health Act 1872, which established
urban sanitary districts
, with borough councils usually being designated as the urban sanitary authority.
[14]
There were a handful of exceptions where commissioners and local boards continued to operate alongside borough councils until the
Local Government Act 1888
required the remaining anomalies to be addressed; from 1889 all borough councils were sanitary authorities with powers to provide infrastructure and oversee public health.
[15]
[16]
County and non-county boroughs
[
edit
]
In 1889,
county councils
were created across England and Wales under the
Local Government Act 1888
. Boroughs were divided into two sorts, with some becoming
county boroughs
which were entirely self-governing and independent from county council administration.
The non-county boroughs had more limited powers of self-government, and shared power with county councils. In 1894, towns which had not been incorporated as boroughs became
urban districts
with similar powers to municipal boroughs.
The title of "borough" was considered to be more dignified than "urban district", and so many larger urban districts petitioned to be granted the status of a municipal borough, and many were granted this right. Borough status did not substantially increase local government powers, although municipal boroughs above a certain size had the right to run
primary education
.
Abolition
[
edit
]
Under the
Local Government Act 1958
, small municipal boroughs could be absorbed by surrounding
rural districts
to become
rural boroughs
, with the powers of a
parish council
. Seven small boroughs in Cornwall, Devon and Shropshire underwent this process.
The remaining municipal boroughs, of which there were over 200, were abolished on 1 April 1974 by the
Local Government Act 1972
. In England, they were replaced by
metropolitan
or
non-metropolitan districts
and in Wales by
districts
.
In most cases, the civic privileges and
coat of arms
of the abolished boroughs were inherited by one of the new local authorities. District councils were permitted to apply for a charter to receive
borough status
, while small municipal boroughs became
successor parishes
with town councils headed by a town mayor. In a few cases
charter trustees
, a special committee of district councillors, were formed to perpetuate the mayoralty of a town or city.
Ireland
[
edit
]
The
Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840
followed the example of the legislation in England and Wales. Unlike the 1835 Act, the Irish Act abolished nearly all of the country's boroughs, reforming just 10. Inhabitants of the larger of the abolished boroughs or of any town with a population of 3,000 could petition the crown for incorporation under the Act. In the event, only one additional borough was created when
Wexford
received a charter of incorporation in 1846.
[17]
The corporation and town council were identical in their constitution to the English boroughs, and each borough was divided into wards with three, six or nine councillors per ward and one alderman for every three councillors.
[18]
The
Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898
designated the six largest municipalities (
Belfast
,
Cork
,
Dublin
,
Limerick
,
Derry
and
Waterford
) as county boroughs. The
Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919
introduced a system of
proportional representation
into municipal elections. Wards were replaced by electoral areas, and the entire council was to be elected triennially. Separate elections of aldermen and councillors were ended, with all members of the council elected by popular vote. One-quarter of the elected members were entitled to the title of "alderman", which was used to designate the first candidates elected in each area. The remaining successful candidates being "councillors".
[19]
Under the
Government of Ireland Act 1920
, Ireland was
partitioned
in 1921, between
Northern Ireland
, which would remain in the United Kingdom, and the remainder, which left the United Kingdom in 1922 as the
Irish Free State
.
Northern Ireland
[
edit
]
On establishment, Northern Ireland contained the county boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry, with no municipal boroughs. The
Parliament of Northern Ireland
abolished proportional representation in local government elections in 1922, and amended the 1840 Act in 1926, allowing
urban districts
to petition the
Governor
for a charter of incorporation.
[20]
[21]
Accordingly, by 1972 the number of boroughs had increased to 12 in number.
The system of local government was reorganised in 1973, with 26
local government districts
replacing all county and municipal boroughs as well as urban and
rural districts
. The city or borough status conferred by the municipal charters passed to the new district councils.
[22]
Irish Free State and the Republic of Ireland
[
edit
]
Nine boroughs (four county boroughs and five municipal boroughs) were within the territory of the Irish Free State in 1922. Two new boroughs were created by statute. In 1930, the
borough of Dun Laoghaire
was created by the amalgamation of the four urban districts of
Blackrock
,
Dalkey
,
Kingstown
, and
Killiney and Ballybrack
in
County Dublin
.
[23]
This borough was later abolished in 1994.
[24]
In 1937 the town of Galway was reconstituted as a municipal borough.
[25]
It became a county borough in 1986.
[26]
[27]
The
Local Government Act 2001
abolished municipal boroughs. County boroughs were replaced by statutory "cities", while the title of "borough" was retained for the other towns holding the status.
[28]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Fletcher, Joseph
(July 1842). "Statistics of the Municipal Institutions of the English Towns".
Journal of the Statistical Society of London
.
5
(2): 97?168.
doi
:
10.2307/2980708
.
JSTOR
2980708
.
- ^
Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (C.76), S. 141
- ^
Edsall, Nicholas C. (March 1973). "Varieties of Radicalism: Attwood, Cobden and the Local Politics of Municipal Incorporation".
The Historical Journal
.
16
(1): 93?107.
doi
:
10.1017/S0018246X00003721
.
S2CID
154140874
.
- ^
1842 C.111
- ^
Local Government Act 1933 (C. 51), S.129
- ^
Wood, Bruce (1976).
The Process of Local Government Reform 1966?74
. George Allen & Unwin. p. 19.
- ^
a
b
c
Shaw, Albert (June 1889). "Municipal Government in Great Britain".
Political Science Quarterly
.
4
(2): 197?229.
doi
:
10.2307/2139337
.
JSTOR
2139337
.
- ^
Finlayson, G. B. A. M. (October 1966). "The Politics of Municipal Reform, 1835".
The English Historical Review
.
81
(321): 673?692.
doi
:
10.1093/ehr/LXXXI.CCCXXI.673
.
JSTOR
562019
.
- ^
"The Municipal Elections".
The Times
. 13 May 1949. p. 3.
- ^
The Times, 5 May 1972
- ^
Guppy, Robert (1835).
A familiar abridgement of the Municipal Corporation Act
. London: Henry Butterworth
. Retrieved
21 February
2024
.
- ^
Guppy, Robert (1835).
A familiar abridgement of the Municipal Corporation Act
. London: Henry Butterworth. pp. 47?48
. Retrieved
21 February
2024
.
- ^
Lawes, Edward (1851).
The Act for Promoting the Public Health, with notes and an appendix
(3rd ed.). London: Shaw and Sons. pp. 254?271
. Retrieved
21 February
2024
.
- ^
Cunningham Glen, William (1873).
The Public Health Act 1872 etc
. London: Butterworths. pp. 2?3
. Retrieved
21 February
2024
.
- ^
Eighth Annual Report of the Local Government Board
. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1879. p. 408
. Retrieved
21 February
2024
.
- ^
Nineteenth Annual Report of the Local Government Board
. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1890. p. xxxvi
. Retrieved
21 February
2024
.
- ^
"History of Borough Council"
. Wexford Borough Council. Archived from
the original
on 19 November 2007
. Retrieved
14 July
2008
.
- ^
Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840, C. 108
- ^
Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919, C. 19
- ^
"Review of Legislation 1922".
Journal of Comparative Legislation and International Law
. Third Series.
6
(3). 1924.
- ^
Municipal Corporations Act (Northern Ireland) 1926
- ^
Local Government (Northern Ireland) Act 1972 (N.I. 1972 c.9)
- ^
Local Government (Dublin) Act 1930
, s. 3 (
No. 27 of 1930, s. 3
). Enacted on 17 July 1930. Act of the
Oireachtas
. Retrieved from
Irish Statute Book
on 2008-07-14.
- ^
Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993
, s. 9 (
No. 31 of 1993, s. 9
). Enacted on 21 December 1993. Act of the
Oireachtas
. Retrieved from
Irish Statute Book
on 2016-08-05.
- ^
Local Government (Galway) Act 1937, s. 4: Formation of the Borough of Galway (
No. 3P of 1937, s. 4
). Enacted on 10 June 1937. Act of the
Oireachtas
. Retrieved from
Irish Statute Book
on 24 June 2021.
- ^
Local Government (Reorganisation) Act 1985, s. 5: Establishment of Borough of Galway as County Borough (
No. 7 of 1985, s. 5
). Enacted on 3 April 1985. Act of the
Oireachtas
. Retrieved from
Irish Statute Book
on 24 June 2021.
- ^
Local Government (Reorganisation) Act 1985 (County Borough of Galway) (Appointed Day) Order 1985 (
S.I. No. 425 of 1985
). Signed on 18 December 1985. Statutory Instrument of the
Government of Ireland
. Retrieved from
Irish Statute Book
on 24 June 2021.
- ^
Local Government Act 2001
, s. 10: Local government areas (
No. 37 of 2001, s. 10
). Enacted on 21 July 2001. Act of the
Oireachtas
. Retrieved from
Irish Statute Book
on 4 April 2023.