It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 and comprised an area surrounding, but not including, the County Borough of Bolton.
The district was abolished when the borough was extended in 1898.
[1] Whereas Bolton RSD was governed by a sanitary authority consisting of the local poor law guardians, the rural district was administered by the directly elected Bolton Rural District Council.
The district consisted of seventeen civil parishes:[1] The district was abolished under the Bolton, Turton and Westhoughton Extension Act.
Its area was distributed between the county borough and the urban districts of Turton and Westhoughton as follows:[2][3]