Municipal Corporations Act 1835


The Municipal Corporations Act 1835, sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The legislation was part of the reform programme of the Whigs and followed the Reform Act 1832, which had abolished most of the rotten boroughs for parliamentary purposes.

Royal commission

The government of Lord Grey, having carried reform out of parliamentary constituencies, turned its attention to local government. In February 1833 a select committee was appointed "to inquire into the state of the Municipal Corporations in England, Wales, and Ireland; and to report if any, and what abuses existed in them, and what measures, in their opinion, it would be most expedient to adopt, with a view to the correction of those abuses". The committee made their report in June 1833, having enquired into a handful of boroughs. The committee found that:
The committee did not believe that they had sufficient powers to carry out a full review of the existing system. They instead recommended the appointment of a royal commission, and that the country be divided into districts with a commissioner responsible for enquiring into boroughs in each district.
The royal commission was appointed by letters patent passed under the great seal. The commission, which was dominated by Radicals, had eighteen members, with two assigned to each district or circuit:
The commission's secretary was Joseph Parkes.

Report

The commission issued its report in 1835. Altogether 285 towns had been investigated. The main conclusions of the report were:
The Commission concluded its report by stating that:
...the existing Municipal Corporations of England and Wales neither possess nor deserve the confidence or respect of Your Majesty's subjects, and that a thorough reform must be elected, before they can become, what we humbly submit to Your Majesty they ought to be, useful and efficient instruments of local government.

Effects of the Act

The Act established a uniform system of municipal boroughs, to be governed by town councils elected by ratepayers. The reformed boroughs were obliged to publish their financial accounts and were liable to audit. Each borough was to appoint a salaried town clerk and treasurer who were not to be members of the council.
The Act reformed 178 boroughs. The Burgh Reform Act 1833 had already carried similar reforms in 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 Act did not extend to the City of London which remains a sui generis authority.
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 wards.
The Act was repealed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1882.

The 178 reformed boroughs

The list shows the style by which the unreformed corporation was known, and the date of its governing charter. In most cases this was the last in a succession of charters granted by a number of monarchs. In a few cases boroughs had no charter, or the charter was lost.
NumberBoroughStyle of unreformed corporationGoverning charterCountyPresent governance
1AberystwythMayor and Burgesses of the Town, Borough, and Liberty of Aberystwith1544CardiganshireAberystwyth Town Council
2AbingdonMayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the Borough of Abingdon1557BerkshireAbingdon Town Council
3AndoverBailiff, approved Men, and Burgesses of the Borough of Andover1599HampshireTest Valley Borough Council
4ArundelMayor, Steward and Burgesses of Arundel1586SussexArundel Town Council
5BanburyMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Banbury in the County of Oxford1554Oxfordshire and NorthamptonshireBanbury Town Council
6BarnstapleMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough and Parish of Barnstaple in the County of Devon1610DevonBarnstaple Town Council
7BasingstokeMayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Basingstoke1622, confirmed 1641HampshireBasingstoke and Deane Borough Council
8BathMayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of the City of Bath1590 and 1794SomersetBecame district in 1974 as is; merged in 1996 to district of Bath and North East Somerset; charter trustees extant
9BeaumarisAldeman, Bailliffs and Burgesses of Beaumaris1562AngleseyBeaumaris Town Council
10BecclesPortreeve, Steward and Burgesses of Beccles1584SuffolkBeccles Town Council
11BedfordMayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the Town of Bedford1684/5BedfordshireBedford Borough Council
12Berwick-upon-Tweed Mayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed1604NorthumberlandBerwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council
13BeverleyMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Beverley in the County of York1573YorkshireCharter trustees
14BewdleyBailiffs, Burgesses, and Inhabitants of the Town and Borough of Bewdley1606, 1708WorcestershireBewdley Town Council
15BidefordMayor, Aldermen, and Capital Burgesses of the Borough, Town, and Manor of Bideford in the County of Devon1573, 1610DevonBideford Town Council
16Blandford ForumBailiff, Seneschal and Capital Burgesses of Blandford Forum1605DorsetBlandford Forum Town Council
17BodminMayor, Aldermen and Councilmen of Bodmin1798

CornwallBodmin Town Council
18BostonMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Boston1545, 1573LincolnshireBoston Borough Council
19BrecknockBailiff, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Brecon1556BreconshireBrecon Town Council
20BridgnorthBailiffs, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Bridgnorth1546ShropshireBridgnorth Town Council
21BridgwaterMayor, Aldermen, Bailiffs and Burgesses of the Borough of Bridgwater1468, 1587, 1628SomersetBridgwater Town Council
22BridportBailiffs and Burgesses of the Borough of Bridport1667DorsetBridport Town Council
23Bristol Mayor, Burgesses, and Commonalty of the City of Bristol1664Gloucestershire and SomersetBristol City Council
24BuckinghamBailiff, Principal Burgesses, and Steward of the Borough of Buckingham1553BuckinghamshireBuckingham Town Council
25Bury St EdmundsAlderman and Burgesses of Bury St. Edmunds in the County of Suffolk1606SuffolkSt Edmundsbury Borough Council until 2003, when separate Bury St Edmunds Town Council formed
26CalneSteward and burgesses of the Borough of Calne1668WiltshireCalne Town Council
27CambridgeMayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the Borough of Cambridge1605CambridgeshireCambridge City Council
28Canterbury Mayor and Commonalty of the City of Canterbury1609KentCanterbury City Council
29CardiffBailiffs, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Town of Cardiff1581 and 1608GlamorganCity of Cardiff 1974–1996, County and City of Cardiff since 1996
30CardiganMayor, Common-Council and Burgesses of the Town and Borough of Cardigan1583CardiganshireCardigan Town Council
31Carlisle Mayor, Aldermen, Bailiffs, and Citizens of the City of Carlisle1637CumberlandCarlisle City Council
32CarmarthenMayor, Burgesses, and Commonalty of the Borough of Carmarthen1604, 1764CarmarthenshireCarmarthen Town Council
33CarnarvonMayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the Town and Borough of Caernarvon1559CarnarvonshireCaernarfon Royal Town Council
34ChardPortreeve and Bailiffs of the Borough of Chard1683SomersetChard Town Council
35Chepping WycombeMayor, Aldermen, Bailiffs and Burgesses of the Borough of Chepping Wycombe1663BuckinghamshireHigh Wycombe Charter Trustees
36Chester Mayor and Citizens of the City of Chester1506CheshireCheshire West and Chester Council
37ChesterfieldMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Chesterfield1662DerbyshireChesterfield Borough Council
38Chichester Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of the City of Chichester1685SussexChichester City Council
39ChippenhamBailiff and Capital Burgesses of the Borough of Chippenham1553WiltshireChippenham Town Council
40Chipping NortonBailiffs and Burgesses of the Borough of Chipping Norton1608OxfordshireChipping Norton Town Council
41ClitheroeBailiffs and Burgesses of the Borough of Clitheroe in the County of Lancaster1604LancashireClitheroe Town Council
42ColchesterMayor and Commonalty of the Borough of Colchester1818EssexColchester Borough Council
43CongletonMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Congleton in the County of Chester1625CheshireCongleton Town Council
44Coventry Mayor, Bailiffs, and Commonalty of the City of Coventry1621WarwickshireCoventry City Council
45Dartmouth or Clifton-Dartmouth-HardnessMayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the Borough of Clifton Dartmouth Hardness in the County of Devon1604DevonDartmouth Town Council
46DaventryBailiff, Burgesses and Commonalty of the Borough of Daventry1674/5NorthamptonshireDaventry Town Council
47DealMayor, Jurats, and Commonalty of the Town of Deal in the County of Kent1699KentDeal Town Council
48DenbighAldermen, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the Borough of Denbigh1662DenbighshireDenbigh Town Council
49DerbyMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Derby1683DerbyshireDerby City Council
50DevizesMayor and Burgesses of the Borough of Devizes1625WiltshireDevizes Town Council
51DoncasterMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Doncaster in the County of York1688YorkshireDoncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
52DorchesterMayor, Bailiffs, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Dorchester in the County of Dorset1629DorsetDorchester Town Council
53DoverMayor, Jurats, and Commonalty of the Town and Port of Dover1684KentDover Town Council
54DroitwichBailiffs and Burgesses of the borough of Droitwich1625WorcestershireDroitwich Spa Town Council
55Durham Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the City of Durham and Framwelgate1780 County DurhamDurham City Council
56East RetfordBailiffs, Aldermen and Commonalty of the Borough of East Retford1607NottinghamshireEast Retford Charter Trustees
57EveshamMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Evesham1605WorcestershireEvesham Town Council
58Exeter Mayor, Bailiffs, and Commonalty of the City of Exeter1537, renewed 1770DevonExeter City Council
59EyeBailiffs, Burgesses and Commonalty of the Borough of Eye1558 and 1574 confirmed 1697SuffolkEye Town Council
60FalmouthMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Town of Falmouth in the County of Cornwall1661CornwallFalmouth Town Council
61FavershamMayor, Jurats and Freemen of the Town of Faversham1546, regranted 1685KentFaversham Town Council
62FlintMayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the Borough of Flint1360 by Edward, the Black Prince as Earl of ChesterFlintshireFlint Town Council
63FolkestoneMayor, Jurats and Commonalty of the Town of Folkestone1313 and 1668KentFolkestone Town Council
64GatesheadBoroughholders and Freemen of the Borough of Gateshead1695County DurhamGateshead Metropolitan Borough Council
65GlastonburyMayor and Burgesses of the borough of Glastonbury1705SomersetGlastonbury Town Council
66Gloucester Mayor and Burgesses of the City of Gloucester in the County of the City of Gloucester1672GloucestershireGloucester City Council
67GodalmingWarden, Bailiff and Assistants of the Borough of Godalming1575SurreyGodalming Town Council
68GodmanchesterBailiffs, Assistants and Commonalty of the Borough of Godmanchester1605HuntingdonshireGodmanchester Town Council
69GranthamAldermen, Burgesses and Commonalty of the Borough of Grantham1463LincolnshireGrantham Charter Trustees
70GravesendMayor, Jurats, and Inhabitants of the Villages and Parishes of Gravesend and Milton in the County of Kent1562, renewed by Charles IKentGravesham Borough Council
71Great GrimsbyMayor and Burgesses of the Town of Grimsby in the County of Lincoln1688LincolnshireGreat Grimsby Charter Trustees
72Great TorringtonMayor, Aldermen and Chief Burgesses of the Borough of Great Torrington1686DevonGreat Torrington Town Council
73Great YarmouthMayor, Aldermen, Burgesses, and Commonalty of the Borough of Great Yarmouth in the County of Norfolk.1703Norfolk and SuffolkGreat Yarmouth Borough Council
74GuildfordMayor and Burgesses of the Town of Guldeford in the County of Surrey1686SurreyGuildford Borough Council
75HarwichMayor and Burgesses of the Borough of Harwich1604EssexHarwich Town Council
76HastingsMayors, Jurats, and Commonalty of the Town and Port of Hastings in the County of Sussex1588, confirmed by Charles IISussexHastings Borough Council
77Haverfordwest Mayor, Sheriffs, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the County of the Town of Haverfordwest, or of the Town and County of the Town of Haverfordwest1610PembrokeshireHaverfordwest Town Council
78HelstonMayor and Aldermen of the Borough of Helston1774CornwallHelston Town Council
79Hereford Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of the City of Hereford1697HerefordshireHereford City Council
80HertfordMayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the Borough of Hertford1680HertfordshireHertford Town Council
81HuntingdonThe Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Huntingdon1630HuntingdonshireHuntingdon Town Council
82HytheThe Mayor, Jurats and Commonalty of the Town and Port of Hythe1575KentHythe Town Council
83IpswichBailiffs, Burgesses, and Commonalty of the Town or Borough of Ipswich.1665SuffolkIpswich Borough Council
84KendalMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Kirby-in-Kendal in the County of Westmorland1636WestmorlandKendal Town Council
85KidderminsterHigh Bailiff and Commonalty of the Borough of Kidderminster in the County of Worcester1827WorcestershireKidderminster Charter Trustees
86King's Lynn or Lynn RegisMayor and Burgesses of the Borough of Lynn Regis1684NorfolkKing's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council
87Kingston upon Hull Mayor and Burgesses of the Town or Borough of Kingston-upon-Hull1688YorkshireHull City Council
88Kingston upon ThamesBailiffs and Freemen of the Borough of Kingston upon Thames1628SurreyKingston upon Thames London Borough Council
89LancasterMayor, Bailiffs, and Commonalty of the Town of Lancaster in the County Palatine of Lancaster1819LancashireLancaster City Council
90Launceston otherwise DunhevedMayor and Aldermen of Dunheved, otherwise Launceston1555CornwallLaunceston Town Council
91LeedsMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Leeds in the County of York1661YorkshireCity of Leeds City Council
92LeicesterMayor, Bailiff, and Burgesses of the Borough of Leicester1630LeicestershireLeicester City Council
93LeominsterBailiffs and Burgesses of the Borough of Leominster1665HerefordshireLeominster Town Council
94Lichfield Bailiff and Citizens of the City of Lichfield1664StaffordshireLichfield City Council – charter trustees 1974–1980
95Lincoln Mayor, Sheriffs, Citizens, and Commonalty of the City of Lincoln1628LincolnshireLincoln City Council
96LiskeardMayor and Burgesses of the Borough of Liskerret otherwise Liskeard in the County of Cornwall1580CornwallLiskeard Town Council
97LiverpoolMayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the Borough of Liverpool1207, 1626LancashireLiverpool City Council
98LlandoveryBailiff and Burgesses of the Borough of Llanymtheverye1590CarmarthenshireLlandovery Town Council
99LlanidloesMayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Llanidloes1449 by John Tiptoft, Lord of PowysMontgomeryshireLlanidloes Town Council
100LouthWarden and Six Assistants of the Town of Louth and Free School of King Edward the Sixth in Louth1605, 1830LincolnshireLouth Town Council
101LudlowBailiffs, Burgesses, and Commonalty of the Town and Borough of Ludlow1665ShropshireLudlow Town Council
102Lyme RegisMayor and Capital Burgesses of the Borough of Lyme RegisWilliam IIIDorsetLyme Regis Town Council
103LymingtonMayor and Burgesses of the Borough of LymingtonIncorporated by virtue of charters granted by Earls of Devon, confirmed by judgment given under a writ of quo warranto in 1578HampshireCharter trustees until 1979, now split between four parishes
104MacclesfieldMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Macclesfield1684CheshireCheshire East Council
105MaidenheadMayor, Bridgemasters, Burgesses and Commonalty of the Town of Maidenhead1685BerkshireWindsor and Maidenhead Borough Council
106MaidstoneMayor, Jurats, and Commonalty of the King's Town and Parish of Maidstone in the County of Kent1748KentMaidstone Borough Council
107MaldonMayor, Aldermen, and Capital Burgesses and Commonalty of Maldon1810EssexMaldon Town Council
108MarlboroughThe Mayor and Burgesses of the Borough of Marlborough1576WiltshireMarlborough Town Council
109MonmouthMayor, Bailiffs, and Commonalty of the Town and Borough of Monmouth1666MonmouthshireMonmouth Town Council
110MorpethBailiffs and Free Burgesses of the Borough of Morpeth1662NorthumberlandCastle Morpeth Borough Council
111NeathPortreeve, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Neath1685GlamorganNeath Town Council
112New WindsorMayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the Borough of New Windsor in the County of Berks1664BerkshireWindsor and Maidenhead Borough Council
113NewarkMayor and Aldermen of the Borough of Newark in the County of Nottingham1673NottinghamshireNewark-on-Trent Town Council
114NewburyMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Newbury1596BerkshireNewbury Town Council
115Newcastle-under-LymeMayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of Newcastle-under-Lyne in the County of Stafford1590StaffordshireNewcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council
116Newcastle upon Tyne Mayor and Burgesses of the Town of Newcastle upon Tyne in the County of the Town of Newcastle upon Tyne1604NorthumberlandNewcastle upon Tyne City Council
117NewportMayor, Aldermen, and Chief Burgesses of the Borough of Newport in the Isle of Wight in the County of Southampton1637Hampshire extinguished; Medina Borough Council from 1974 to 1995
118NewportMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Newport1685MonmouthshireNewport City Council
119NorthamptonMayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of Northampton1797NorthamptonshireNorthampton Borough Council
120Norwich Mayor, Sheriffs, Citizens, and Commonalty of the City of Norwich1683NorfolkNorwich City Council
121Nottingham Mayor and Burgesses of the Town of Nottingham1449NottinghamshireNottingham City Council
122OswestryMayor, Aldermen, Common Councilmen, and Burgesses of Oswestry1674ShropshireOswestry Borough Council
123Oxford Mayor, Bailiffs, and Commonalty of the City of Oxford in the County of Oxford1635OxfordshireOxford City Council
124PembrokeMayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the Town and Borough of Pembroke1485PembrokeshirePembroke Town Council
125PenrynMayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Borough of Penryn1621CornwallPenryn Town Council
126PenzanceMayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the Town of Penzance in the County of Cornwall1614CornwallPenzance Town Council
127PlymouthMayor and Commonalty of the Borough of Plymouth1572DevonPlymouth City Council
128PontefractMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough or Town of Pontefract1607YorkshireWakefield City Council
129Poole Mayor, Bailiffs, Burgesses, and Commonalty of the Town of Poole1568DorsetPoole Borough Council
130PortsmouthMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Portsmouth in the County of Southampton1627HampshirePortsmouth City Council
131PrestonMayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the Borough of Preston in the County Palatine of Lancaster1685LancashirePreston City Council
132PwllheliMayor, Bailiffs and Burgesses of the Borough of PwllheliElizabeth ICarnarvonshirePwllheli Town Council
133ReadingMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Reading in the County of Berks1638BerkshireReading Borough Council
134RichmondMayor and Aldermen of the Borough of Richmond in the County of York1668YorkshireRichmond Town Council
135RiponMayor, Burgesses, and Commonalty of the Borough of Ripon in the County of York1604YorkshireRipon City Council
136Rochester Mayor and Citizens of the City of Rochester in the County of Kent1629KentMedway Borough Council
137RomseyMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Town of Romsey Infra in the County of Southampton1607, 1692HampshireRomsey Town Council
138RuthinAldermen, Common Councilmen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Ruthin1284, 1508DenbighshireRuthin Town Council
139RyeMayor, Jurats and Freemen of the Town of RyeNo charter separate from Cinque PortsSussexRye Town Council
140Saffron WaldenMayor and Aldermen of the Town of Saffron Walden in the County of Essex1694EssexSaffron Walden Town Council
141Salisbury or New Sarum Mayor and Commonalty of the City of New Sarum in the County of Wilts1611WiltshireSalisbury City Council
142SandwichMayor, Jurats and Commonalty of the Town of Sandwich1684KentSandwich Town Council
143ScarboroughBailiffs and Burgesses of the Town of Scarborough1684YorkshireScarborough Borough Council
144ShaftesburyMayor and Capital Burgesses of the Borough of Shaftesbury1604, 1665DorsetShaftesbury Town Council
145ShrewsburyMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Town of Shrewsbury in the County of Salop1685ShropshireShrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council
146South MoltonMayor, Capital Burgesses and Commonalty of the Borough of South Molton1684DevonSouth Molton Town Council
147Southampton Mayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the Town of SouthamptonHampshireSouthampton City Council
148SouthwoldBailiffs and Commonalty of the Borough of Southwold1689SuffolkSouthwold Town Council
149St AlbansMayor and Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Saint Albans in the County of Hertford1685HertfordshireSt Albans City Council
150St IvesMayor and Burgesses of the Borough of St Ives1685CornwallSt Ives Town Council
151StaffordMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Stafford1827StaffordshireStafford Borough Council
152StamfordMayor, Aldermen, and Capital Burgesses of the Town or Borough of Stamford in the County of Lincoln1685LincolnshireStamford Town Council
153StockportMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of StockportNo charter, corporation appointed by Court LeetCheshire and LancashireStockport Metropolitan Borough Council
154Stockton-on-TeesMayor, Aldermen, Burgesses, and Commonalty of the Borough of StocktonNo charter extant, borough by prescriptionCounty DurhamStockton-on-Tees Borough Council
155Stratford-on-AvonMayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Stratford on Avon1674WarwickshireStratford-upon-Avon Town council
156SudburyMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of SudburyCharles IISuffolk and EssexSudbury Town Council
157SunderlandMayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the Borough of Sunderland1634 County DurhamSunderland City Council
158SwanseaPortreeve, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of SwanseaBorough by prescription GlamorganCity and County of Swansea
159TamworthBailiffs and Burgesses of the Borough of Tamworth1663Staffordshire and WarwickshireTamworth Borough Council
160TenbyMayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the Borough of Tenby1631PembrokeshireTenby Town Council
161TenterdenThe Mayor, Jurats and Commons of the Town and Hundred of Tenterden1600KentTenterden Town Council
162TewkesburyBailiffs, Burgesses, and Commonalty of the Borough of Tewkesbury in the County of Gloucester1698GloucestershireTewkesbury Borough Council
163ThetfordMayor, Aldermen and Commonalty of the Borough of Thetford1573Norfolk and SuffolkThetford Town Council
164TivertonMayor and Burgesses of the Town and Parish of Tiverton in the County of Devon1723DevonTiverton Town Council
165TotnesMayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Totness1596DevonTotnes Town Council
166TruroMayor, Aldermen, and Capital Burgesses of the Borough of Truro1589CornwallTruro City Council
167WallingfordMayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Wallingford1663BerkshireWallingford Town Council
168WalsallMayor and Commonalty of the Borough and Foreign of Walsall in the County of Stafford1627, confirmed 1661StaffordshireWalsall Metropolitan Borough Council
169WarwickMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Warwick1693,WarwickshireWarwick Town Council
170Wells Mayor, Masters, and Burgesses of the City or Borough of Wells in the County of Somerset1589SomersetWells City Council
171WelshpoolBailiffs and Burgesses of the Borough of Poole in the County of Montgomery1615MontgomeryshireWelshpool Town Council
172WenlockBurgesses of the Borough of Wenlock1631ShropshireMuch Wenlock Town Council
173Weymouth and Melcombe RegisMayor, Aldermen, Bailiffs, Burgesses, and Commonalty of the Borough and Town of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in the County of Dorset1803DorsetWeymouth and Portland Borough Council
174WiganMayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Wigan1662LancashireWigan Metropolitan Borough Council
175Winchester Mayor, Bailiffs, and Commonalty of the City of Winchester1588HampshireWinchester City Council
176WisbechBurgesses of the Borough of Wisbech1646CambridgeshireWisbech Town Council
177WorcesterMayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of the City of Worcester1621WorcestershireWorcester City Council
178York Mayor and Commonalty of the City of York1679YorkshireCity of York Council