Borough: Encyclopedia II - Borough - Historical boroughs

Borough - Historical boroughs

In its original Anglo-Saxon connection with its modern meaning, a borough was a number of households or an extended household, surrounded by a defensive wall. This might have been a stockade or a walled town. In place-names therefore, it can refer to the walled enclosure of a lord's hall or to a walled town. When the Five Burghs of the Danelaw were given that name, this was people's view of them. By the late medieval period, a charter from the king and a civic organization became more significant in defining a borough than the wall was.

Borough - England

In England, boroughs developed as a method of providing a corporate identity for a town, particularly in relation to rights obtained from local barons or from the English Crown. The formal status of borough came to be conferred by Royal Charter.

These boroughs were generally governed by a self-selecting corporation (i.e., when a member died or resigned his replacement would be by co-option). Sometimes boroughs were governed by bailiffs or headboroughs.

Debates on the Reform Bill (eventually the Reform Act 1832) had highlighted the variations in systems of governance of towns, and a Royal Commission was set up to investigate the issue. This resulted, in a regularisation of municipal government in 1835, with all municipal corporations to be elected according to a standard franchise, based on property ownership. At the same time, a procedure was established whereby a town could petition Parliament to be given borough status. The 178 reformed boroughs, and those that followed them, became known as municipal boroughs. A number of unreformed boroughs remained after 1835, these being finally abolished in 1886.

The reform of county government in 1888 established the county borough, a city or town that had a corporation as any other borough, but with additional powers equivalent to those of a county council.

As part of a large-scale reform of local government in England in 1974, both county boroughs and municipal boroughs were abolished. However, the civic traditions of many boroughs were continued by the grant of a charter to their successor district councils. In smaller boroughs, a town council was formed for the area of the abolished borough, while charter trustees were formed in other former boroughs. In each case, the new body was allowed to use the regalia of the old corporation, and appoint ceremonial office holders such as sword and mace bearers as provided in their original charters. The council or trustees may apply for an Order in Council or Royal Licence to use the former borough coat of arms.

From 1265, two burgesses from each borough were summoned to the Parliament of England, alongside two knights from each county. Representation in the House of Commons was decided by the House itself, which resulted in many cases of a borough being represented in Parliament despite it having no corporation or mayor (or vice versa).

By the 19th century the population changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution had created a situation in which a major conurbation might have no representation in Parliament, whilst towns which had declined in size to mere villages still retained their seat. Additionally, the electoral franchise varied from borough to borough, some of which had become rotten boroughs.

The Reform Act 1832 sought to rationalise this system to some extent, as well as eliminating corrupt practices. Many boroughs, some of which existed in little more than name, were disenfranchised, whilst some of the industrial towns which had developed in the North came to be represented in Parliament for the first time.

Subsequent Reform Acts gave more parliamentary seats to the expanding boroughs, whilst disenfranchising the smaller ones. From 1884, voters in county and borough seats had the same franchise, so the distinction between the two was essentially eliminated; however, on the assumption that the smaller, urban boroughs would require less travelling for electoral candidates than in the larger, more rural county seats, the distinction between the two sorts of constituency was retained for the purposes of calculating maximum permitted electoral expenses.

In 1899, as part of a reform of local government in the County of London, the various parishes in the county were reorganised as a new entity, the metropolitan borough. These became reorganised as London Boroughs in a subsequent reform, in 1965.

As part of the 1974 reform of local government in England, six major urban areas were established as "metropolitan counties", subdivided into "metropolitan districts". A number of those districts over time were granted the dignity of "borough", and thus became known as a metropolitan borough.

Borough - New Zealand

New Zealand formerly used the term borough to designate self-governing towns of more than 1,000 people. A borough of more than 20,000 people could become a city by proclamation. Boroughs and cities were collectively known as municipalities, and were enclaves separate from their surrounding counties.

In the 1980s some boroughs and cities began to be merged with their surrounding counties to form districts with a mixed urban and rural population. In 1989 a nationwide reform of local government completed the process. Counties and boroughs were abolished and all boundaries were redrawn. Under the new system, most territorial authorities cover both urban and rural land. The more populated councils are classified as cities, and the more rural councils are classified as districts. Only Kawerau District, an enclave within Whakatane District, continues to follow the tradition of a small town council that does not include surrounding rural area.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Historical boroughs", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki