dewsbury was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1862. its first mayor was dr george fearnley. the reform act of 1868 constituted dewsbury a parliamentary borough, and liberal candidate john simon, serjeant-at-law, was returned as the borough's first mp. the victorian town hall standing in front of the old marketplace dates from 1886–89. dewsbury's boundaries were expanded to include the urban districts of ravensthorpe, thornhill, and soothill nether, and part of soothill upper, in 1910, and in 1913 it was elevated to county borough status. "soothill nether" refers to the current east end of the town, although at that time chickenley and chidswell were hamlets, and earlsheaton contained the bulk of the area's population.