[1] From the start, the union was open to women, and this policy allowed membership to reach 300 in the town by 1860.
In 1886 the union was renamed as the Bolton and District Card, Blowing, Ring and Throstle Room Operatives' Association, reflecting its greater areas of recruitment.
[1] In 1910, the union was renamed as the "Bolton and District Card, Blowing and Ring Room Operatives' Provincial Association".
Because Bolton was known for higher-quality cotton spinning than other districts, it was little affected by the Great Depression, and so membership remained stable, peaking at 15,466 in 1936.
[1] The cotton industry and union membership declined after World War II, but only slowly in Bolton until the late 1950s.