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Visitors to Bolton in Greater Manchester might well expect a warm welcome and a friendly smile; according to a survey of the British Association for the Advancement of Science Bolton is the friendliest town in the country. It is situated to the north-west of Manchester city centre, approximately 20 minutes journey away and is also in the north-western corner of Greater Manchester. Found between neighbouring town Wigan to the west and Bury to the east, Bolton is easily accessible via the M61 which passes through the region.
In Bolton there are somewhere in the region of 700 listed buildings around 26 conservation areas while there are also plenty of golf courses and open green spaces. One such space near the town centre is Queen’s Park which also has some water features. Bolton holds one of the earliest public libraries; it was set up after the Public Libraries Act of 1850. Other features of the town centre include the Bolton Museum and Art Gallery, Smithills Hall with parts dating back to the 14th century and the Town Hall which is a grade II listed building that was opened in 1873. For entertainment Bolton is home to the Octagon Theatre while for education there is the University of Bolton.
Originally part of the county of Lancashire, the first recorded mention of the town came in 1185 at a time when it was spelt Boelton. Several other names were used in subsequent years before it settled with Bolton in 1307, its name meaning a settlement with a special building. The town was a Parliamentary outpost amid a royalist region during the English Civil War and this led to 3,000 royalist troops destroying much of the town in 1644 in an event that become known as the Bolton Massacre. During the 15th century a number of Flemish weavers settled in this part of the country and this helped Bolton rise to prominence in the textile industry which subsequently brought urbanisation and development. By 1929 it had 216 cotton mills and 26 bleaching and dying works although by the 1980s this had all but died out. It is through this lens that we see the Bolton of today.
In Bolton there are somewhere in the region of 700 listed buildings around 26 conservation areas while there are also plenty of golf courses and open green spaces. One such space near the town centre is Queen’s Park which also has some water features. Bolton holds one of the earliest public libraries; it was set up after the Public Libraries Act of 1850. Other features of the town centre include the Bolton Museum and Art Gallery, Smithills Hall with parts dating back to the 14th century and the Town Hall which is a grade II listed building that was opened in 1873. For entertainment Bolton is home to the Octagon Theatre while for education there is the University of Bolton.
Originally part of the county of Lancashire, the first recorded mention of the town came in 1185 at a time when it was spelt Boelton. Several other names were used in subsequent years before it settled with Bolton in 1307, its name meaning a settlement with a special building. The town was a Parliamentary outpost amid a royalist region during the English Civil War and this led to 3,000 royalist troops destroying much of the town in 1644 in an event that become known as the Bolton Massacre. During the 15th century a number of Flemish weavers settled in this part of the country and this helped Bolton rise to prominence in the textile industry which subsequently brought urbanisation and development. By 1929 it had 216 cotton mills and 26 bleaching and dying works although by the 1980s this had all but died out. It is through this lens that we see the Bolton of today.