Bolton

There is more than one Bolton in Lancashire. This is the main one, nowadays just referred to as Bolton, and was also known as Bolton-le-Moors.

Select map to view larger area
BOLTON-LE-MOORS, a parish in the districts of Bolton, Wigan, and Chorley, Lancashire. It centres in the Post Town of Bolton; and contains the townships of Great Bolton, Little Bolton, Sharples, Quarlton, Edgeworth, Entwistle, Longworth, Turton, Bradshaw, Haulgh, Tonge, Breightmet, Harwood, Lostock, Darcy-Lever, Blackrod, Anglezarke, and Rivington, and the chapelry of Little Lever. Acres, 30,062. Real property, £332,547; of which £29,356 are in mines, and £1,969 in quarries. Pop. in 1841, 73,905; in 1861, 97,215. Houses, 18,385. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Manchester. Value, £350.* Patron, the Bishop of Manchester. The vicarages of Holy Trinity, St. George, Christ Church, and St. John, and the p. curacies of All Saints, Emmanuel, St. Mark, and St. Paul, within the borough of Bolton, are separate benefices. Value of Holy Trinity, St. George, Christ Church, and St. John, each £300; of Emmanuel, £300;* of St. Mark, £160; of St. Paul, £150; of All Saints, £128. Patron of H. T., the Bishop of Manchester; of St. G. and E., the Vicar of Bolton; and of St. J., alternately the Crown and the Bishop; of A. S., T. Tipping, Esq.; of St. M. and St. P., Trustees. The vicarages of Astley-Bridge, Belmont, Blackrod, Bradshaw, Little Lever, and Lever Bridge, and the p. curacies of Harwood, Rivington, Tonge, Turton, and Walmsley also are separate benefices. See the articles on these places and Bolton.

John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)

Archives and libraries

Local Studies,
Central Library,
Le Mans Crescent,
BOLTON BL1 ISE
Tel: 01204 332185 Fax: 01204 363224

Bibliography

The following books contain useful information about the history of Bolton and the surrounding area.

Cemeteries

Census

Details about the census records, and indexes for Bolton.

Church History

Church Records

You can also perform a more selective search for churches in the Bolton area that are recorded in the GENUKI church database. This will also help identify churches in nearby townships and/or parishes. You also have the option to see the location of the churches marked on a map.

If you keep this page loaded for a very long time and the database is updated since loading it, the church links above may become stale and may display the wrong church. If this happens, reloading this page will correct them.

A considerable number of church records have been published by the Bolton branch of the Manchester & Lancashire FHS.

Civil Registration

The Register Office covering the Bolton area is Bolton.

Description and Travel

Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council provide a range of information about the town.

The Bolton website has a range of pictures and information about the town.

You can see pictures of Bolton which are provided by:

Gazetteers

Ask for the gazetteer for a calculation of the distance from Bolton to another place.

Historical Geography

In 1835 the parish of Bolton contained the townships of Great Bolton, Blackrod, Lostock, Anglezarke, Rivington, Sharples, Longworth, Turton, Bradshaw, Entwistle, Edgworth, Quarlton, Harwood, Musbury, Breightmet, Little Bolton, Tonge and Haulge, Darcy Lever and Little Lever.

History

The history of Bolton from Pigot's Lancashire directory, 1830.

Some more information about the history of Bolton.

A description of Bolton in the 19th century.

Maps

View maps of Bolton and places within its boundaries. You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SD717091 (Lat/Lon: 53.577720, -2.428895), Bolton which are provided by:

Poor Houses, Poor Law etc.

The Workhouse site has an interesting description of Bolton workhouse.

Probate Records

For probate purposes prior to 1858, Bolton was in the Archdeaconry of Chester, in the Diocese of Chester. The original Lancashire wills for the Archdeaconry of Chester are held at the Lancashire Record Office.

Societies

Bolton and District Family History Society, is a branch of the Manchester & Lancashire FHS.

You can also see Family History Societies covering the nearby area, plotted on a map. This facility is being developed, and is awaiting societies to enter information about the places they cover.