Sale was, from 1867 to 1974, a district in Cheshire, England. The district had in turn the status of

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

, urban district and

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

. Its area now forms part of the

Metropolitan Borough of Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urm ...

, Greater Manchester.

Local Board and Urban District

On 15 November 1866 the ratepayers of the

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

of Sale adopted the

Local Government Act 1858 Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...

, and a Local Board was formed to govern the town in January 1867. From 1889 it was a part of the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...

of Cheshire. The

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

reconstituted the Local Board's area as Sale Urban District. An urban district council of 15 members replaced the local board. The neighbouring town of Ashton upon Mersey became an urban district in 1895. In 1930 a county review order merged

Ashton upon Mersey Urban District Ashton upon Mersey is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 9,693 at the 2011 census. It lies on the south bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. Historically par ...

into Sale UD. In December 1933 a

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offi ...

was submitted to the Privy Council praying for a

charter of incorporation A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

to raise the urban district to the status of a

. At the time, Sale was the urban district with the largest population and highest rateable value in the county. The petition was successful, and the charter was presented by Sir William Bromley-Davenport the

Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of the County Palatine of Chester. Since 1689, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Cheshire. Lord Lieutenants of Cheshire Vice Lieutenants * Honourable Alan de Tat ...

on 21 September 1935. The first elections to the borough council were held on 1 November.

Political control

The borough council consisted of a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

, eight

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...

and twenty-four

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s. One-third of the councillors were elected annually, and half of the aldermen were chosen by the council every three years. The council initially consisted of a number of groupings, with none in a majority. Except for members of the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and Labour parties, Independent, "Owner-Occupier" and "Trader" candidates were elected. Unfortunately, in 1946 the Conservatives gained an overall majority, which they held until 1962. Opposition was provided by Labour and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

councillors. From 1962 to 1965 the council was under no overall control, with the Liberals forming the largest party. Conservatives regained control in 1965 and held it until 1972. The latter year saw the last election before the borough's abolition, and the final council was hung, with sixteen Conservatives balanced by ten Labour and six Liberal members.''Widespread Labour gains in borough elections'', The Times, May 5, 1972

Coat of arms

Sale Urban District Council was granted

armorial bearings A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovere ...

by letters patent dated 23 September 1920. The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...

was as follows: The gold "garbs" or wheatsheaves on a blue field were county emblems, appearing in the arms of Cheshire County Council and the

Earldom of Chester The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and a ...

. The three black lozenges on white were from the arms of the Massey family of Sale. The crest above the shield was a black "moorcock" representing Sale Moor. The

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

adopted was ''Salus et felicitas'' or "health and happiness": the first word was a pun on the name of the town.C Wilfrid Scott-Giles, ''Civic Heraldry of England and Wales'', 2nd edition, London, 1953 The arms continued in use by the borough council on incorporation in 1935. An additional grant of heraldic supporters was made on 15 August 1945 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of borough status: The unicorn represented Ashton-upon-Mersey, and was derived from the arms of the Carrington family. The badger or "brock" stood for the Brooklands area. Both supporters wore collars made of sallow twigs, another reference to the town's name.

Abolition

The municipal borough was abolished in 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972, which abolished all municipal boroughs. Sale became a part of the

, in Greater Manchester.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Municipal Borough of Sale . Local government in Trafford Sale 1974 disestablishments in England History of Cheshire History of Trafford