It was in May last year whilst writing the speech for my Inauguration as mayor, that I happened to look at the document which had been hanging on the wall of my study for some years.

The document was a copy of the Charter of Bolton.

In reading it I was at once reminded that January 14, 2002 would be the 750th anniversary of the granting of that charter by William de Ferrers, the Earl of Derby in 1253. It did not take much further study to reveal the full significance and importance of the Charter.

The Bolton of 1253 was very different to the Bolton of 2003. The Charter related only to Great Bolton, an area stretching from the river Croal, now covered by the Market Place in the north, to Burnden Park in the south, from the River Tonge at The Haulgh in the east, it stretched then only to Gilnow in the west.

Compared to the present metropolitan borough, it was a tiny area, but that first Charter made Great Bolton an important market town, a centre of commerce and trade and the foundation of the Bolton we know today.

Textiles and farming were the main businesses. Indeed there is evidence of Flemish weavers coming to Bolton in the mid 1300s because of its reputation in textiles.

Over the centuries the many townships such as Deane, Halliwell, Lostock, Tonge, Sharples and Rumworth, which then covered the area we now know as Bolton, grew in population.

The expansion of the textile industry in the period around 1800, helped by inventors such as Samuel Crompton, with his spinning mule developed here in Bolton, forced the need for a change. By 1838 the demand for a new form of government led to a petition to Queen Victoria for Borough status.

This was not universally popular, but despite a counter petition against incorporation, on October 11, 1838, Bolton received a further charter and so became only the second such Borough to be created.

Thus on December 1, 1838, Charles Darbishire became the first Mayor of Bolton.

The borough, based on the townships of Great and Little Bolton along with the highly populated urban areas of Halliwell and Rumworth, quickly developed with a huge expansion in its population throughout the middle of the century.

In its early years of the borough of Bolton, the centre of local government was the Little Bolton Town Hall, but in 1866 the need for a new town hall became apparent. Plans were drawn up and in 1868 work began.

Designed by William Hill, of Leeds, Bolton Town Hall was opened on June 5, 1873, by the then Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII. Even that building, which cost just £140,000 was not big enough and in 1932 the additions to the rear of the town hall, along with the civic buildings, now Le Mans Crescent, were built on the design of the local architects Bradshaw, Gass and Hope. That extension opened by the Earl of Derby in 1939 cost around £1million.

By 1888 the growth of Bolton had levelled out and the county borough of Bolton with a population of 160,000 people was granted a further charter, The new county borough included the Borough of 1838 along with the townships such as Astley Bridge, Breightmet, Darcy lever, Deane, Great Lever, Halliwell, Heaton, Hulton, Lostock, Rumworth and Tonge.

In 1974 eight former boroughs and districts became the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton. All are depicted by a red rose on the Coat of Arms. The County Borough of Bolton, the Borough of Farnworth, and the urban districts of Blackrod, Horwich, Kearsley, Little Lever and Westhoughton along with the southern part of Turton, were joined together to create the now Bolton. All are part of what we are celebrating in 2003 because the celebration is of Bolton, its history and its future.

It is impossible in a few words to offer a mere snapshot of just some of the individuals, the events and the life that has made and continues to make Bolton such a great place. I am immensely proud of Bolton and to be its mayor at this time of celebration.

Let us all use the opportunity to celebrate the many successes of the whole of the metropolitan borough and put Bolton well and truly on the map.

I want to thank those who took up my initial thoughts and who, with their encouragement and support have helped to ensure that my initial vision has become a reality. In so doing, they have ensured that Bolton will now celebrate in style. The Charter Ball, Flower Festival, Medieval Market and Church Services, not just at Bolton Parish Church, but in each of the pre-1974 constituent parts of the metropolitan borough have not just happened.

Much hard work by many people, has gone into making sure that this "Celebration of Bolton" is truly that.

I hope that the people of Bolton will join in what I believe will be a truly memorable weekend and I hope it will make the start of a year that Bolton and Boltonians will never forget.

Councillor John Walsh OBE

Mayor of Bolton