County Borough of Salford

In about 1230, the vill of Salford, Lancashire, was created a free borough by charter granted by Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester. The borough's government was in the hands of a borough-reeve and 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 the Hundred 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 householders petitioned the Privy Council for a charter of incorporation under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835[4] The charter was granted on 16 April 1844, and the Municipal Borough of Salford came into existence on 1 November.[2]

The borough originally consisted of the township of Salford and the part of Broughton township south of the River Irwell. It was divided into four wards (Blackfriars, Crescent, St Stephen's and Trinity), with a town council consisting of a mayor, eight aldermen and twenty-four councillors.[5] In 1853 the borough was extended to include the rest of Broughton and Pendleton township. 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 and Weaste.[6]

Under the Local Government Act 1888 all 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 the County Borough of Salford.[7] Although independent of Lancashire County Council, Salford remained part of the county for certain purposes such as lieutenancy, shrievalty, custos rotulorum and 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 by William Joynson-Hicks, Home Secretary and MP for a neighbouring constituency of Manchester, city status was granted to the county borough by letters patent dated 21 April 1926.[9] This was in spite of the opposition of civil servants in the Home Office who 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 the Local Government Act 1972 and its territory transferred to Greater Manchester to form part of the metropolitan borough and City of Salford. At abolition the county borough was surrounded by the City and county Borough of Manchester to the east, the Municipal Borough of Swinton and Pendlebury to the northwest, the Municipal Borough of Eccles to the southwest, and the Municipal Borough of Stretford to 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) and Water.[11]

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 parliamentary Conservative and Liberal parties. 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 the Independent Labour Party contesting seats in their own right.[15]

Conservatives and other Unionist members maintained a large majority until 1919. In that year the Labour Party gained 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 of World 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]