About Bolton

Bolton is a large town situated in Lancashire, in the north west of England, with a population of about 261,000. The current Metropolitan Borough of Bolton was created in 1974 and encompasses the townships of Bolton, Farnworth, Kearsley, Horwich, Westhoughton, Little Lever, Blackrod and South Turton, all of which retain their own unique characters, identity and history.

Bolton itself boasts a magnificent Town Hall, pedestrian-friendly shopping streets, an acclaimed theatre and a new University. The beauty of the moorland countryside within (and surrounding) the Borough may come as a pleasant surprise to those still expecting factory chimneys and clogs...

Bolton has always been a town that made things. In the famous and pioneering Mass Observation study carried out between 1937 and 1940 it was known as Worktown. In its heyday as an industrial manufacturing town the skyline was indeed a forest of chimneys, most of which served the textile industry, of which Bolton was a world-famous centre. Heavy engineering, foundries, bleaching, tanning and coal mining were also major employers. Very few of the chimneys - or old industries - now remain.