In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a town traditionally was a settlement which had a charter to hold a market or fair and therefore became a "market town". In Scotland, the equivalent is known as a burgh. There are two types of burgh: royal burghs and burghs of barony.
The Local Government Act 1972 allows Parish Councils in England and Wales to resolve themselves to be Town Councils, under section (245 subsection 6) and thus declare that the settlement is a town. Many former urban districts and municipal boroughs have such a status, along with other settlements with no prior town status. Historically, villages became towns by award of a market charter. The cultural importance placed on charters remains, and it is not an unusual event for towns across the UK to celebrate their charter in an annual Charter Day (normally a fair or medieval market).
It is sometimes considered that a village becomes a de facto town as soon as it reaches a significant size or population, although this is an informal definition and no particular numbers are agreed upon. [1] Some very large villages, such as Kidlington in Oxfordshire, have resolved not to become a town.
Ranked by population:
There is no single definition of a town. According to the Ordnance Survey, a town is a centre of business and population with an area in excess of 2.5 square kilometres. Some places may be smaller but were historically considered towns, for example market or former county towns.