Municipal Reform Act 1835

Prior to the passing of the act, the Municipal Borough s varied depending upon their charters. In some boroughs, corporations had become self-perpetuating Oligarchies , with membership of the corporation being for life, and vacancies filled by Co-option .

The Act reformed 178 boroughs. The Burgh Reform Act 1833 had already covered Scotland . Similar legislation would not be introduced in Ireland until the Municipal Reform Act 1840 . There remained more than 100 Unreformed Boroughs , which generally either fell into Desuetude or were replaced later under the terms of the Act. The last of these was not reformed or abolished until 1886 . The City Of London remains unreformed to the present day.

The Act allowed unincorporated towns to petition for incorporation. The industrial towns of the Midlands and North quickly took advantage of this, with Birmingham and Manchester becoming boroughs as soon as 1838 . Altogether, 62 Additional Boroughs were incorporated under the act

The new corporations had annual elections, with a third of the councillors up for election each year. The council also elected Aldermen to serve on the council, with a six year term. Towns were divided into Ward s. {Link without Title}

The act was repealed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1882

THE 178 REFORMED BOROUGHS

† In 1842 The County of the City of Coventry was joined to Warwickshire

EXTERNAL LINKS

Historyhome.co.uk - a web article providing background information on the Act.

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Municipal Reform Act 1835