In 1838 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, the townships of Great Bolton and Little Bolton along with the Haulgh area from Tonge with Haulgh township were incorporated as a municipal borough, making it the second to be created in England after Devonport.

The legality of the charter was disputed until the Borough Charter Confirmation Act, 1842 confirmed its status. By 1889 the population of Bolton exceeded 50,000 and as a result it was constituted as a county borough by the Local Government Act 1888. Although situated in the County of Lancashire, it was administered independently from Lancashire until the Local Government Act 1974 when the County Borough of Bolton was abolished, and it was transferred to Greater Manchester to form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton.