Bolton le Moors

Bolton le Moors was originally a part of the ancient parish of Eccles. In the 14th century it became a parish in its own right.^[1] It resembled what is now the town of Bolton and some outskirts. As with many large parishes in the north of England, it was split into townships in 1662 for easier civic administration.^[2] Some of the townships had chapels and were known as chapelries.^[3]

For civil purposes, these townships and chapelries were largely autonomous. For ecclesiastical purposes they were presided by and gave an overall precept to the vicar of Bolton. In 1866, the young civil parish (civil parishes in England were set up for almost all parishes from the 1840s to 1860s) was ended; the townships became civil parishes in their own right.^[4] These townships, later civil parishes, were used for the censuses until 1891, after which most were absorbed into the County Borough of Bolton or became urban districts. Anglezarke and Rivington became part of the Chorley Rural District.

The residual ecclesiastical parish exists, being east-central Bolton town centre and a joined-on zone south-west.^[5][6] It is one of the Church of England parishes in the Diocese of Manchester.^[7][8] The parish church is St Peter's Church, Bolton and was rebuilt between 1866 and 1871.

The Reverend Matthew Thompson served from 2008 to 2017.^[9][10]

• Thomas Cole (1801–1848), painter and the founder of the Hudson River School.
• John Moran (1830–1902), pioneer artistic photographer.
• Thomas Moran (1837–1926) painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School.