Mossley
| Mossley | |
| Cheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire | |
|---|---|
 Mossley | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SD9702 |
| Location: | 53°30’53"N, 2°2’19"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 9,856 (2001) |
| Post town: | Ashton-under-Lyne |
| Postcode: | OL5 |
| Dialling code: | 01457 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Tameside |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Stalybridge and Hyde |
| Website: | Mossley Town Council |
Mossley is a small town which spreads across the borders of Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire, with the three counties meeting in a 'Y' here on the Tame (by Three Counties Road and Border Millfold). The town sits in the upper section of the Tame's valley, on the lower slopes of the Pennines, three miles north-east of Ashton-under-Lyne and nine miles east of Manchester. The Huddersfield Narrow Canal follows the Tames down through the town.
Mossley is not a single-centred town; the Lancashire part, Mossley Brow, is west of the river and canal, with a natural centre at Market Street, while the Cheshire side, the east side of the valley and which may be called Micklehurst, spreads from Station Road and Staley Road, with Waggon Road crossing to the Lancashire side. The Yorkshire part, Roughtown, is to the north, on the west side of the Tame.
Given its position on the edge of three shires, Mossley’s ecclesiastical boundaries are divided, so although the Diocese of Manchester extends to include Saddleworth (part of the West Riding of Yorkshire), the Yorkshire streets are in a distinct parish, and those streets within Cheshire belong to the Diocese of Chester.
Name
Believed to originate, or first be heard, around 1319, the name Mossley means “Woodland clearing by a bog”; literally a “moss ley”.[1]
Churches
The eccesiastical parishes correspond to the boundaries of the counties:
- Church of England:
- St George's – Lancashire
- St John the Baptist – Roughtown, Yorkshire
- All Saints' Church – Micklehurst, Cheshire.
- Roman Catholic: St Joseph’s
History
Mossley, like so many in south Lancashire, grew as a mill town in the Industrial Revolution.
George Lawton, the son of magistrate and alderman John Lawton, inherited a family fortune and, when he died in August 1949, he left his entire estate (apart from some legacies) to the people of Mossley. Part of his estimated £40,000 estate was left to build a public meeting place, the George Lawton Hall, which is a testament to his generosity.
Events
Mossley - alongside neighbouring Stalybridge and Uppermill in Saddleworth - helped launch the annual Whit Friday Band Contest, an internationally known brass band event. This came about when the three towns held unconnected brass band events on 6 June 1884.
Town Council
On 13 March 1885 Mossley was granted a Charter of Incorporation to become a municipal borough, which though its boundaries changed in the interim lasted until 1974.
In 1999 a new town council was established for the whole town, which has three wards based on the county borders; with four members represent the Cheshire part, three members the Lancashire part and two members the Yorkshire part. The town has an unofficial badge (pretending to be a coat of arms) which includes Cheshire's sheaf of corn, Lancashire's red rose and Yorkshire's white rose to signify the three shires.
Sport
- Cricket: Micklehurst Cricket Club.
- Football:
- Mossley AFC
- Mossley Juniors FC
Outside links
- Mossleyweb; Mossley AFC
- Mossley Town Council
- MossleyOnline
- Mossley, History and Photo Guide to Mossley
- Tameside Council - Mossley Coat of Arms
- Mossley Hollins High School
- Mossley Business Association
References
- ↑ Hanks, Patrick; Flavia Hodges, A.D. Mills, Adrian Room (2002). The Oxford Names Companion. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860561-7.