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County Borough of Salford

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Coordinates:53°29′N2°17′W/ 53.49°N 2.29°W/53.49; -2.29
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For the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, seeCity of Salford.

City of Salford
County Borough of Salford

Salford Town Hall(until 31 March 1974)
Area
• 18615,170 acres (2,090 ha)
• 19215,202 acres (2,105 ha)
• 19615,205 acres (2,106 ha)
Population
• 1861102,449
• 1901162,452
• 1971131,006
History
• Created1844;180 years ago(1844)
• Abolished1974;50 years ago(1974)
• Succeeded byCity of Salford
StatusMunicipal borough1844–1889
County borough1889–1974 &City1926–1974
Government
•MottoIntegrity and Industry

Salfordwas, from 1844 to 1974, alocal government districtin the county of Lancashire in the northwest of England, covering the city ofSalford.[1]It was grantedcity statusin 1926.

History[edit]

Free Borough and Police Commissioners[edit]

In about 1230, thevillof Salford,Lancashire,was created a freeboroughbychartergranted byRanulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester.The borough's government was in the hands of aborough-reeveand portmote court. The reeve was elected by the burgesses at large, while the head of the Molyneux family of Sefton presided over the court as hereditary steward of theHundred of Salford.[2]

In 1791 the first modern local government was established in the area, when the Manchester and Salford Police Act created commissioners to administer the two towns.[3]In 1843 the inhabitant householderspetitionedthePrivy Councilfor acharter of incorporationunder theMunicipal Corporations Act 1835[4]The charter was granted on 16 April 1844, and theMunicipal Borough of Salfordcame into existence on 1 November.[2]

Municipal borough[edit]

The borough originally consisted of the township of Salford and the part ofBroughtontownship south of theRiver Irwell.It was divided into fourwards(Blackfriars,Crescent, St Stephen's and Trinity), with a town council consisting of amayor,eightaldermenand twenty-four councillors.[5]In 1853 the borough was extended to include the rest of Broughton andPendletontownship. The wards of the borough were redrawn and increased in number to sixteen. Salford township was divided into seven wards, Broughton into three and Pendleton into six. Each ward was represented by three councillors and one alderman, and the size of the council consequently increased to forty-eight councillors and sixteen aldermen.[2]The names of the wards were as follows: Albert Park, Charlestown, Crescent, Grosvenor, Hope, Islington,Kersal,Ordsall,Regent, St Matthias's, St Paul's, St Thomas's, Seedley, Trafford, Trinity andWeaste.[6]

County borough and city[edit]

Under theLocal Government Act 1888all municipal boroughs with a population of 50,000 or more were designated as "county boroughs" with the powers of both a municipal borough and a county council. In 1889, therefore, the town became theCounty Borough of Salford.[7]Although independent ofLancashire County Council,Salford remained part of the county for certain purposes such aslieutenancy,shrievalty,custos rotulorumand administration of justice.

The size of the borough council did not change, although the wards were reorganised in 1921. The wards, which remained until the borough's abolition were as follows: No.1 or Charlestown, No.2 or Kersal, No.3 or Mandley Park, No.4 or Albert Park, No.5 or St Matthias's, No.6 or Trinity, No.7 or Crescent, No.8 or Regent, No.9 or Ordsall Park, No.10 or Docks, No.11 or St. Thomas's, No.12 or St Paul's, No.13 or Langworthy, No.14 or Seedley, No.15 or Weaste and No.16 or Claremont.[8]

Following a campaign supported byWilliam Joynson-Hicks,Home SecretaryandMPfor a neighbouring constituency of Manchester,city statuswas granted to the county borough byletters patentdated 21 April 1926.[9]This was in spite of the opposition of civil servants in theHome Officewho dismissed the borough as "merely a scratch collection of 240,000 people cut off from Manchester by the river".[10]

The City and County Borough of Salford was abolished in 1974 by theLocal Government Act 1972and its territory transferred toGreater Manchesterto form part of themetropolitan boroughandCity of Salford.At abolition the county borough was surrounded by theCity and county Borough of Manchesterto the east, theMunicipal Borough of Swinton and Pendleburyto the northwest, theMunicipal Borough of Ecclesto the southwest, and theMunicipal Borough of Stretfordto the south.

The corporation progressively accumulated increased powers and responsibilities through government legislation and by the promotion of private parliamentary bills. The range of activities in which it was involved can be ascertained by the large number of committees of the borough council in 1909:Buildings and Bridges; Cemeteries; Education; Electricity; Health; Highways and Paving; Improvement; Lighting and cleaning; Museums, Libraries and Parks; Parliamentary and Public Trusts; River Irwell Consevancy; Town Halls and Markets; Tramways; Watch (police)andWater.[11]

Political control[edit]

Elections to the borough council were held annually, with one third of councillors being elected each year. Aldermen had a six-year term of office, with one half of their number being elected by the council every three years. As was common in borough elections throughout England, early elections were often uncontested, with agreed candidates being elected unopposed.[12]As late as 1883 only two wards were contested.[13]Although party labels were not used, there were in fact two groupings on the council, aligned to the parliamentaryConservativeandLiberalparties. Conservatives were in a majority until 1892 when the two groups reached parity, with an independent councillor holding the balance of power.[14]The Conservatives regained power in 1893, and by 1894 the Liberal grouping had divided into "Gladstonians" and "Radicals", with theIndependent Labour Partycontesting seats in their own right.[15]

Conservatives and otherUnionistmembers maintained a large majority until 1919. In that year theLabour Partygained five seats, leaving the council evenly divided between Conservatives and Liberal-Labour.[16]There was thereafter no single party in power for a number of years, with Conservative, Labour, Liberal and Independent groups represented. In 1931 the Conservatives gained control for three years, before the council returned to no overall control.[17][18]Following the cancellation of elections for the duration ofWorld War II,a Labour landslide saw the party gain a majority for the first time.[19]Labour held the council with a large majority for more than twenty years until the Conservatives returned to power in 1968.[20]Three years later the Conservatives lost power.[21]The final election prior to abolition was held in 1972, and saw Labour regain a majority.[22]

Coat of arms[edit]

The mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the Borough of Salford were grantedarms and creston 5 November 1844, and on the following day received a further grant of heraldicsupporters.The blazon was as follows:[23]

Azure semee of bees volant a shuttle between three garbs Or on a chief of the last a bale corded proper between two millrinds sable; and for a Crest: On a wreath of the colours a demi lion argent supporting a lance proper therefrom flowing to the sinister a flag azure charged with a shuttle Or.

Supporters: On the dexter side a wolf Or around the neck a chain and pendent therefrom an escocheon gules charged with a millrind also Or on the sinister side an heraldic antelope argent armed crined and unguled Or around the neck a chain and pendent therefrom an escocheon gules charged with a rose also argent.

The basis of the shield are the three gold wheatsheaves on a blue field of theEarldom of Chester.To this were added a bale for thecottonindustry, millrinds for the production of iron, a shuttle for weaving and bees for industry in general. The crest was a half-lion supporting a banner bearing a shuttle. The supporters were a wolf, an emblem of the early Earls of Chester; and anheraldic antelopefrom the arms of the Beaufort family, representing theDuchy of Lancaster.The arms granted to Manchester two years earlier had a similar supporter for the same reason.

ThemottowasIntegrity and Industry.[24]

On 15 September 1959 the corporation received the grant of anheraldic badge:

Within a collar argent fimbriated Or set thereon four roses gules barbed and seeded proper and as many letters S also gules alternately a hurt thereon issuant from a wreath of sallow a demi lion also argent.

The "collar of SS" was derived from the insignia of the Duchy of Lancaster, while thered rose of Lancasterwas from Lancashire. Thesallowleaves referred to the derivation of the name "Salford" from "Sallow Ford". The lion was taken from the crest.[25]

Police force[edit]

As required by the Municipal Corporations Act, one of the first actions of the newly created town council was to appoint aWatch Committeeto establish a police force,Salford Borough Police,and appoint a chief constable.[26]In 1928 the force introducedpolice boxesto the streets of Salford.[27]Following inspection by theMetropolitan Police,similar boxes were erected in London. ThePolice Act 1964allowed for the compulsory amalgamation of police forces, and on 1 June 1968 the Manchester and Salford city constabularies formed theManchester and Salford Police.[28]

Salford Corporation Transport[edit]

In 1875, the corporations of Manchester and Salford gained powers under theTramways Act 1870(33 & 34 Vict.c. 78) to construct a horse tramway network. Services started on 17 May 1877, with a private company, the Manchester Carriage Company (laterManchester Carriage and Tramways Company) operating services on a 21-year lease. The lease was eventually extended until 1901, with Manchester taking over their portion of the network on 27 April and Salford on 2 May. The lines were quickly electrified, with work completed by 1903, and the system was extended toWorsleyin 1906. Through services were operated over the lines of neighbouring municipalities, reachingMiddletonandSwinton and Pendlebury[29]

In 1920 Salford commenced motorbus operation, and the first tram routes were withdrawn in 1932. The last tram went out of service on 31 March 1947. By this time the undertaking had been renamedSalford City Transport.On 1 November 1969 SCT was merged into theSELNEC Passenger Transport Executive.[29]

References[edit]

  1. ^A vision of Salford CB/MB,visionofbritain.org.uk. URL accessed 1 July 2008.
  2. ^abcWilliam Barrer and J Brownbill (editors) (1911)."Townships – Salford".A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4.British History Online.Retrieved21 July2008.{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help)
  3. ^"Salford – Local History".Salford City Council. 2003. Archived fromthe originalon 6 September 2008.Retrieved21 July2008.
  4. ^"No. 20233".The London Gazette.13 June 1843. pp. 1978–1979.
  5. ^"Corporation of Salford".Slater's General and Classified Directory and Street Register of Manchester and Salford their vicinities.Historical Directories. 1850.Retrieved22 July2008.
  6. ^"No. 25316".The London Gazette.12 August 1892. p. 4588.
  7. ^Local Government Act 1888 C.41, S.31
  8. ^"No. 32429".The London Gazette.21 August 1921. pp. 6578–6582.
  9. ^"No. 33154".The London Gazette.23 April 1926. pp. 2776–2777.
  10. ^Beckett, J V,City status in the British Isles, 1830–2002Aldershot, 2005
  11. ^"Salford County Borough".Slater's Manchester, Salford & Suburban Directory, 1909.Historical Directories. 1909.Retrieved23 July2008.
  12. ^Albert shaw,Municipal Government in Great BritaininPolitical Science Quarterly,Vol.4, No.2, June 1889, pp. 197–229
  13. ^The Municipal Elections,The Times, 2 November 1883, p.6
  14. ^The Municipal Elections,The Times, 2 November 1892, p.6
  15. ^The Municipal Elections,The Times, 2 November 1894, p.6
  16. ^Borough Council Elections,The Times, 3 November 1892, p.7
  17. ^The Municipal Elections,The Times, 4 November 1931, p.6
  18. ^The Municipal Elections,The Times, 3 November 1934, p.7
  19. ^The Municipal Elections,The Times, 2 November 1945, p.8
  20. ^Tories reap reach harvest from Labour,The Times, 10 May 1968, p.8
  21. ^Tories lose ground in face of Labour upsurge in local polls,The Times, 14 May 1971 p.5
  22. ^Widespread Labour gains in borough elections,The Times, 5 May 1972
  23. ^A C Fox-Davies,The Book of Public Arms,2nd edition, London 1915
  24. ^C Wilfrid Scott-Giles,Civic Heraldry of England and Wales,2nd edition, London, 1953
  25. ^Geoffrey Briggs,Civic and Corporate Heraldry,London, 1972
  26. ^Jenifer Hart,Reform of the Borough Police, 1835–1856inThe English Historical Review,Vol. 70, No. 276, (July 1955), pp. 411–427
  27. ^Police Telephone Boxes,The Times, 24 April 1928, p.13
  28. ^"A History of Policing in Manchester 1839–1974"(PDF).Greater Manchester Police. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 18 October 2007.Retrieved23 July2008.
  29. ^abPeter Gould."Salford Corporation Transport".Local Transport History.Archived fromthe originalon 14 October 2006.Retrieved22 July2008.

53°29′N2°17′W/ 53.49°N 2.29°W/53.49; -2.29

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