Royton was a local government district from 1863 to 1974 in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, which covered the modern-day town of

Royton Royton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 21,284 in 2011. Close to the source of the River Irk, near undulating land at the foothills of the South Pennines, it is northwest of Old ...

, and its suburbs and districts. It covered a significant area to the north-west of the

County Borough of Oldham Oldham was, from 1849 to 1974, a local government district in the northwest of England coterminous with the town of Oldham. History Improvement Commissioners Oldham was anciently a township in the large ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum- ...

, and formed part of the Oldham parliamentary constituency, which was abolished in 1950.

History

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, ...

of Royton historically lay in the large parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham. In 1863, Royton Local Government District was created when the township 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 ...

. A

local board 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 ...

was formed to govern the town. In 1879, the district was enlarged by the addition of part of Thornham township. 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 area as an

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (his ...

, and Royton Urban District Council replaced the local board. The urban district was divided into five wards: Dogford, Dryclough, Haggate, Heyside, and Thornham, with each ward returning three councillors to the fifteen-member council. The only change to boundaries was in 1933, when the '' Lancashire (Manchester and District) Review Order'' added a small area from the neighbouring

Municipal Borough of Middleton The Municipal Borough of Middleton was, from 1886 to 1974, a municipal borough in the administrative county of Lancashire, England, coterminous with the town of Middleton. Civic history By the nineteenth century the neighbouring townships of Mi ...

. In 1974 Royton Urban District was abolished by the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

and its former area transferred to

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

to form part of the

Metropolitan Borough of Oldham The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Oldham, The borough had a population of 237,628 making it the seventh-largest district by populati ...

References

A vision of Royton UD
visionofbritain.org.uk. URL accessed December 18, 2006. {{coord, 53.6, -2.1, display=title, region:GB, format=dms Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Districts of England abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 History of Lancashire History of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Local government in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Urban districts of England