Bolton is a town in what is now the county of Greater Manchester in North West England. Historically it was a town in the ancient county of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production center for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th century, introducing a wool and cotton-weaving tradition.

A former mill town, Bolton has been a centre for textile production since the 14th century when Flemish weavers settled in the area, introducing a wool and cotton-weaving tradition. It was a 19th-century boomtown, development largely coincided with the introduction of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution.

The town consists of the two townships of Great Bolton and Little Bolton, separated by the Croal. The first fact of importance in the history of the growth of this important seat of manufacturing industry is the settlement of some Flemish emigrants here in the first half of the 14th century.

Bolton began as a small village. However, Bolton grew larger and more important in the early Middle Ages. In 1251 Bolton was made into a town. It was given a charter, a document giving the inhabitants certain rights. They were allowed to hold a market.

Bolton was part of a large area owned by the Crown after the Norman invasion in 1066. The spoils of war left it a largely barren area, but a baron of William the Conqueror, Roger de Poictou, responsible for Liverpool and Lancaster Castles, was given the land (between the River Ribble and River Mersey to the west of Manchester.