Area 55.26 km² | Population 139,403 (2001) | |
Colleges and Universities University of Bolton, Bolton College Points of interest Jumbles Country Park, Macron Stadium, Smithills Hall, Hall i th Wood, Ye Olde Man & Scythe | ||
Bolton ( or locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area during the 14th century, introducing a wool and cotton-weaving tradition. The urbanisation and development of the town largely coincided with the introduction of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. Bolton was a 19th-century boomtown, and at its zenith in 1929 its 216 cotton mills and 26 bleaching and dyeing works made it one of the largest and most productive centres of cotton spinning in the world. The British cotton industry declined sharply after the First World War, and by the 1980s cotton manufacture had virtually ceased in Bolton.
Contents
- Map of Bolton
- Bolton wanderers 22 birmingham city championship 201314 highlights
- History
- Geography
- Economy
- Culture and society
- Non grocery store food haul boltons and penn vermont farm
- References
Map of Bolton
Close to the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is 10 miles (16 km) northwest of the city of Manchester. It is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages that together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the administrative centre. The town of Bolton has a population of 139,403, whilst the wider metropolitan borough has a population of 262,400. Historically a part of Lancashire, Bolton originated as a small settlement in the moorland known as Bolton le Moors. During the English Civil War the town was a Parliamentarian outpost in a staunchly Royalist region, and as a result Bolton was stormed by 3,000 Royalist troops led by Prince Rupert of the Rhine in 1644. In what became known as the Bolton Massacre, 1,600 residents were killed and 700 were taken prisoner.
Former Premier League football club Bolton Wanderers play home games at the Reebok Stadium (Reebok, the sportswear company, was founded and based for many years in the town) and the WBA World light-welterweight champion Amir Khan was born in the town. Cultural interests include the Octagon Theatre and the Bolton Museum and Art Gallery, as well as one of the earliest public libraries established after the Public Libraries Act 1850.
Bolton wanderers 22 birmingham city championship 201314 highlights
History
Bolton is a common Northern England name derived from the Old English bothl-tun, meaning a settlement with a dwelling. The first recorded use of the name, in the form Boelton, dates from 1185 to describe Bolton le Moors, though this may not be in relation to a dwelling. It was recorded as Bothelton in 1212, Botelton in 1257, Boulton in 1288, and Bolton after 1307. Later forms of Botheltun were Bodeltown, Botheltun-le-Moors, Bowelton, Boltune, Bolton-super-Moras, Bolton-in-ye-Moors, Bolton-le-Moors. The towns motto of Supera Moras means "overcome difficulties" (or "delays"), and is a pun on the Bolton-super-Moras version of the name meaning literally, "Bolton on the moors".
Geography
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is 10 miles (16 km) northwest of the city of Manchester and surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the administrative centre.
The early name, Bolton le Moors, described the position of the town amid the low hills on the edge of the West Pennine Moors southeast of Rivington Pike (456 m). Bolton lies on relatively flat land on both sides of the clough or steep-banked valley through which the River Croal flows in a southeasterly direction towards the River Irwell. The geological formation around Bolton consists of sandstones of the Carboniferous series and Coal Measures; in the northern part of Bolton the lower Coal Measures are mixed with underlying Millstone Grit.
Climate in the Greater Manchester area is generally similar to the climate of England, although owing to protection from the mountains in North Wales it experiences slightly lower than average rainfall except during the summer months, when rainfall is higher than average. Bolton has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).
Economy
At the time of the 2001 Census, there were 56,390 people in employment who were resident within Bolton. Of these, 21.13% worked in the wholesale and retail trade, including repair of motor vehicles; 18.71% worked within manufacturing industry; 11.00% worked within the health and social work sector and 6.81% were employed in the transport, storage and communication industries.
Culture and society
According to a survey of the British Association for the Advancement of Science Boltonians are the friendliest people in Britain. Humphrey Spender photographed Bolton calling it Worktown for the Mass-Observation Project, a social research organisation which aimed to record everyday life in Britain. His photographs provide a record of ordinary people living and working in a British pre-War industrial town.
Bolton has several theatres including the Octagon and independent groups such as Bolton Little Theatre and the Phoenix Theatre Company. Inside the Town Hall there is a theatre and conference complex, the Albert Halls. Le Mans Crescent, home to the central library, museum, art gallery, aquarium, magistrates court and town hall, is to be the centre of a new Cultural Quarter. The library and museum are to be extended into the area now occupied by the Magistrates Court. Bolton Museum and Art Gallery houses a collection of local and international art, including work by the Bolton-born American artist Thomas Moran.
Bolton Central Library was one of the earliest public libraries established after the Public Libraries Act 1850, opening in October 1853 in the Exchange Building on the old market square (Victoria Square) before moving to Le Mans Crescent in July 1938. The Bolton Symphony Orchestra performs regular concerts at the Albert Halls and Victoria Hall in the town centre. The 2008 BBC Radio 3 Adult Choir of the Year and five times gold-medal winning barbershop chorus The Cottontown Chorus is based in Bolton.
The towns daily newspaper is The Bolton News, formerly the Bolton Evening News. There is a weekly free paper, the Bolton Journal and Bolton Councils monthly newspaper, Bolton Scene. The town is part of the BBC North West and ITV Granada television regions, served by the Winter Hill transmitter near Belmont. Local radio is provided by Tower FM, which broadcasts across Bolton and Bury; Bolton FM began broadcasting in 2009.
The fictional village of Newbank in Benjamin Disraelis novel Coningsby was based in part on the industrial village of Barrow Bridge. Spring and Port Wine by playwright, Bill Naughton was filmed and set in Bolton and The Family Way based on Naughtons play All in Good Time was also filmed and set in the town. Peter Kay filmed comedy TV series That Peter Kay Thing in the town.
Bolton buildings have stood in for other towns and cities. Le Mans Crescent has featured as a London street in the Jeremy Brett version of Sherlock Holmes and a Russian secret service building in the 1990s comedy series Sleepers. The 1990s BBC drama Between the Lines filmed an episode in Victoria Square.
In A grammar of the dialect of the Bolton area by linguist Graham Shorrocks, the local dialect is described as being distinct from those of nearby Salford and Manchester.