Bolton, borough, in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, northern England, on the Croal River. It is a road and rail transportation center. Manufactures include textiles, especially fine quality cottons; electric equipment; chemicals; and paper. Coal is mined in the borough. Bolton's civic center houses a museum, an art gallery, and an aquarium. In the Middle Ages the town was an important market with wool manufactures. The modern textile industry of Bolton dates from 1780, when the first cotton-spinning factory was built here. Growth was spurred by the opening of a canal to Manchester in 1791. Population (1996 estimate) 265,449.
