A Timeline of Bolton's History

I can only trace Bolton back to 1066, prior to that year Bolton was part of The Salford Hundred as a subdivision.

The Domesday Book recorded that the area was held in 1066 by Edward the Confessor.

1066 - 1773
1066 1067 1185 1251 1516 1623 1643 1644 1651 1773
The Domesday Book recorded that the area was held in 1066 by Edward the Confessor.

Bolton was then part of The Salford Hundred.
In 1067 Great Bolton was the property of Roger de Poitou and after 1100, of Roger de Meresheys.

It became the property of the Pilkingtons who forfeited it in the Civil War and after that the Stanleys who became Earls of Derby.
The first recorded use of the name Bolton, in the form of Boelton, as a way to describe Bolton le Moors. The village of Bolton is made into a town.

Bolton is given a charter and is allowed to hold markets and an annual fair.
Bolton Grammar School was founded.

Bolton is a thriving little town.
Bolton is struck by plague.

There were also outbreaks of smallpox in 1642 and 1647. However, each time, Bolton soon recovered.
During the Civil War the royalists try to capture Bolton but they are beaten off. The royalists are beaten off again in February but in May they capture Bolton, mid-17th Century Bolton has a population of about 2,000.

It is described as a fair, well-built town with broad streets.
James The Seventh Earl of Derby was beheaded for his part in the Bolton Massacre. The population of Bolton is 5,339.

c1780 The cotton industry in Bolton booms.

1792 - 1841
1792 1801 1810 1813 1814 1818 1819 1824 1825 1838 1841
A body of men called Improvement Commissioners is formed to pave, clean and light the streets. The population began to grow rapidly and reached a total of 17,416 according to the census. The Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal was completed.

The canal was originally to have been a narrow canal and work started in 1791.
A Bolton soldier Richard Whewell was in his mid 20s when he fought and helped to beat, Napoleon Bonaparte’s French army at the Battle of Nive in France. Bolton's first hospital was Bolton Dispensary, founded by public subscription in a house in Mawdsley Street. Bolton Gas Light and Coke Co was formed on February 11th and incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1820. Gas was first used in Bolton on May 1st 1819 when, the town was lit up by gas lights in a most brilliant manner to the great surprise and joy of the inhabitants. A water company is formed in Bolton.

The Belmont Reservoir supplying water for Bolton was built.
Holy Trinity church in Bradford Square was built, it was designed by Philip Hardwick and built with a grant of £13,924 (equivalent to £1,030,000 in 2015). Bolton gained Chartered Borough status granted by Queen Victoria on the 11th of October. The population of Bolton according to the census was 50,583.

1843 - 1894
1843 1845 1853 1855 1866 1867 1870 1873 1880 1883 1889 1894
The Bolton and Preston Railway opens throughout, construction began in 1837. Rothwell and Kitts Newtown mill boiler explosed killing 11 people, Monday 15th December. Bolton's first public library was opened and Bolton was third town in the country to adopt the Public Libraries Act of 1850.. Bolton Market Hall, designed by architect G T Robinson, opens on December 19th, it was said to be “the largest covered market in the kingdom”. Queen's Park is a Victorian park lying to the north-west of the town centre.

It was named in 1897 in honour of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and it was by Lord Bradford.
The Bolton Evening News was founded by John Tillotson and his son William Frederick Tillotson

Published for the first time on March 19th, it was the first halfpenny evening newspaper in England
Warburtons Bakery was founded.

Ellen Warburton started baking bread, Ellen's first batch of four loaves of bread and six cakes sold out in under an hour.

Within two weeks the tiny shop in Bolton was renamed 'Warburtons the Bakers'.
The original Bolton Town Hall was opened on June 5th by HRH Prince Albert of Wales.

Even a medal was struck. At 23 years old, this must have been one huge local event.
Bolton's first municipal transport system actually began with the horse trams and buses.

The Council leased their rights to Edmund Holden and Company, however, the last horse drawn tram ran in 1990.
Bolton New Infirmary opened on Chorley Road.

It closed in 1998, with service transferred to Bolton General in Farnworth.
Bolton was granted County Borough status becoming autonomous and independent from Lancashire County Council. Bolton gains an electricity supply.

The first electric power station in Spa Road opened on October 31st.

1900 - 1946
1900 1901 1904 1910 1913 1916 1920 1920s 1941 1946
Electric trams begin running in Bolton.

The first speeding offence was reported by the Evening News on May 16, 1901 'Furious tramcar driving; 680 yards in less than 90 seconds' the driver was fined 5s (1 Crown).
The population of Bolton is 168,000.

Bolton is now the biggest town in the English census but still only ranked 20th.
Bolton Corporation experiments with its first motor buses on the 5th September, however, they are soon withdrawn.

Also in September Bolton Corporation introduced The Sterling steam omnibus.
The first cinema in Bolton opens, The Electric – later named the Imperial, then the Embassy.

It opened on the corner of Deansgate and Bridge Street in 1910 and remained there for more than three decades.
July 10th was the day that King George V and Queen Mary visited the town, the first time a reigning monarch had come to Bolton. A Zeppelin raid kills 13 people and destoryed 6 houses in Bolton.

The night death came to Bolton during World War 1,Tuesday 26th September.
Reuben Mort was murdered on Monday 19th January, the murder remains unsolved.

Reuben was found in his shop at 3, Market Street, suffering from shocking head injuries. He was taken to Bolton Infirmary and died from the injuries.
The cotton industry in Bolton begins a long, slow decline.

The last cotton mill to be built in Bolton was the electric powered Sir John Holden’s Mill on Blackburn Road which was built in 1927. The textile industry in Bolton had virtually disappeared by the end of the 20th century.
During World War II, A bombing raid hits Ardwick Street and Punch Street, killing 11 people and injuring a further 64 people in Bolton.

Over a hundred residents from nearby damaged properties were evacuated to a rest centre.
Burnden Park Disaster, on Wednesday 9th March and at the time was the worst tragedy in British football history.

33 Bolton Wanderers fans were crushed to death and further 400 injured.

1947 - 1968
1947 1948 1950 1957 1958 1962 1965 1967 1968
The last tram in Bolton runs.

The last tramcar was crewed by a special team. It was driven by Insp. H. Whittle, and the role of conductor ('clippie') was played by the Mayoress who collected a total of £11 in 'fares' which was presented to the Mayor's Flood Relief Fund.
Bolton Corporation’s Howell Croft South Bus Station opens in July. The Parliamentary Borough of Bolton was abolished and replaced with two parliamentary constituencies, Bolton East and Bolton West. Fylde Street Disaster occures.

19 houses collapsed and a further 121 houses were badly damaged due to a ruptured storm drain that was constructed in 1860.
A plane crashes into Winter Hill killing 35 people only 7 people survive.

Bristol 170 Wayfarer in which they were travelling from the Isle of Man to Manchester's Ringway Airport hit the snow-covered summit in thick cloud.
The Top Storey Club Disaster occurs killing 19 people, Monday 1st May.

Modern day fire regulation laws cite events of this traic evening to hopefully prevent a recurrance.
Construction of St Peters (A666) begins.

The road is later named the Devil’s Highway, as it is known for its suicides from the many bridges that line the road and also a local hotspot for vehicle accidents
The Octagon Theatre was opened in November by HRH Princess Margaret.

In 1987 the building was extended to add a studio theatre and fully refurbished in 1998.
Brackley Pit Tragedy takes place, 4 people died, Tuesday 16th April.

1969 - 2015
1969 1971 1974 1980 1981 1985 1987 1988 1997 2001 2003 2005 2015
Bolton Corporation was acquired by the SELNEC PTE on 1st November.

One Bolton Corporation Transport bus a 1956 Leyland PD2 is preserved at the Museum of Transport Manchester.
The Arndale Centre opens with a construction cost £1 million, it was later renamed to Crompton Place in 1989. The Local Government Act 1972, the County Borough of Bolton was abolished and its territory transferred to Greater Manchester to form part of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton. The country's first ever drive-thru restaurant opens in Bolton, Henry's.

Henry's also had the country's first ever brail menu.
Town Hall Fire, Saturday 14th November.

a fire started in the hall and for 5 hours it burned fiercely. The flames could be seen for miles,especially in the darkness.
Navada Skating Rink Fire, Wednesday 18th September.

A £1 MILLION mystery blaze destroyed Bolton’s Navada roller skating rink as one of its shocked owners watched helplessly.
Bolton’s new bus and rail interchange becomes fully operational and the new Moor Lane Bus Station is officially opened. Refurbishment of Market Place Shopping Centre was completed and re-opened by The Queen. Reebok Stadium opens, eventually to be renamed in 2014 to The Macron Stadium in July. The population of Bolton according to the census was 139,403.

The population of the Metropolitan Borough was around 261,000.
Bolton was granted Fairtrade Town status on February 13th and Horwich followed in 2005 to join 450 other towns to carry the tag. The University of Bolton was created from the former Bolton Institute of Higher Education. Boxing day floods, 128mm of rain fell in a 36hr period.

River gauges show the highest recorded water levels since 1910, many homes in the Stoneclough area were badly flooded.

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