Toponymy The first part of the township,
Tonge, as its name implies, is located on the tongue of land between the
River Tonge and
Bradshaw Brook, which was derived from the
Old English tang or
twang meaning a fork in a river. The second part of the township,
Haulgh, is derived from the Old English
halh meaning a plot of flat
alluvial land by a river.
Governance Historically, Tonge with Haulgh formed part of the
Hundred of
Salford, a judicial division of southwest
Lancashire. It was one of the townships that made up the ancient
ecclesiastical parish of
Bolton le Moors. Under provisions of the
Poor Relief Act 1662,
townships replaced
civil parishes as the main units of local administration in Lancashire. Tonge with Haulgh became one of the eighteen autonomous townships of the civil parish of
Bolton le Moors. In 1837, Tonge with Haulgh became one of the townships of the Bolton
Poor Law Union, which took over the responsibility for the administration and funding of the
Poor Law in that area. The following year, the Haulgh area of the township was incorporated into the
municipal borough of Bolton. The remainder not merged with the municipal borough continued with the name "Tonge with Haulgh". From 1872, it was part of the Bolton Rural
Sanitary district. In 1894 the parish of
Tonge was formed from part of
Halliwell, in the same year, Tonge became part of the
Bolton Rural District. On 30 September 1895 the parish of Tonge with Haulgh was abolished and merged with Bolton. However, the rural district was abolished in 1898, and Tonge became an
electoral ward of the
County Borough of Bolton. == Demography ==