Status details for Borough

Status:Borough
Identifier:Borough
Number of units in system: 629
Geographical Level: 9 (Middle-level District)
ADL Feature Type:countries, 3rd order divisions
Is a status within:Ancient District

Full Description:

A Borough is a town possessing a municipal corporation and special privileges conferred by royal Charter; hence the sovereign is said to create a Borough. It is also possible to create a Borough by Act of Parliament, although formal royal assent would be still be required and it was rare before the Local Government Act (1933). The distinguishing features of this unit are its powers of self-governance. Its rights include; the ability to appoint inspectors or officers and institutions related specifically to the Borough, some degree of exception from county jurisdiction, special schemes of taxation, the right to hold markets and fairs and the right to send representatives to Parliament. Occasionally Boroughs may become 'counties of themselves'. The Boroughs that did not gain the status of Municipal Borough by the mid 1880s were disfranchised.