Dewsbury - Governance

Governance

Dewsbury was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1862, its first mayor was Dr George Fearnley. The 1868 Reform Act constituted Dewsbury a parliamentary borough, its first MP being Mr Sergeant Simon. The Victorian town hall standing in front of the old marketplace was built in 1886-89. Dewsbury's boundaries were expanded to include the urban districts of Ravensthorpe, Thornhill, Soothill Nether and part of Soothill Upper in 1910 and it was elevated to county borough status in 1913. "Soothill Nether" refers to the current east end of the town, although, at the time, Chickenley and Chidswell were hamlets, and Earlsheaton formed the bulk of the area's population. The covered market was opened in 1904 and during the 1920s trade moved from the original market place to the area around the covered market.

In 1974 responsibility for local government passed to Kirklees Metropolitan Council, with its headquarters in Huddersfield. The population of Dewsbury has remained broadly static over the past century - the 1911 census recorded 53,351 people, and the 1971 census 51,326 people, making it the fourth least populous county borough in England (after Canterbury, Burton and Yarmouth).