 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.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.