Bolton is a large town in Greater Manchester, in the North West region of England. Situated close to the West Pennine Moors, 10 miles (16 km) north west of the city of Manchester, it is the largest and most populous settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, and has a population of 139,403,a decline from previous years, as the populace migrate from the old town boundaries to the more palatial wider borough, the borough population being 262,500.
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. In 1644 Bolton was stormed by 3,000 Royalist troops led by Prince Rupert of the Rhine. This attack, which later came to be known as the Bolton Massacre, resulted in 1,600 residents being killed and 700 taken prisoner.
Noted as a former mill town, textiles have been produced in Bolton since Flemish weavers settled in the area during the 15th century, developing a wool and cotton weaving tradition. The urbanisation and development of Bolton largely coincided with the introduction of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. It was a boomtown of the 19th century and, at its zenith in 1929, 216 cotton mills and 26 bleaching and dying works, made it one of the largest and most productive centres of cotton spinning in the world. After World War I the British cotton industry declined sharply and by the 1980s cotton manufacture had virtually ceased in Bolton.
Bolton is today noted for its Premier League football team Bolton Wanderers F.C. who play from the Reebok Stadium, with Reebok, the sportswear company, being based in the town. |
