Mossley

Mossley means "a woodland clearing by a swamp or bog". The earliest record of the name here dates from around 1319.{{cite book|last=Hanks|first=Patrick |author2=Flavia Hodges |author3=A.D. Mills |author4=Adrian Room|title=The Oxford Names Companion|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2002|isbn=0-19-860561-7}}

File:Market Street with Wardle High School band - geograph.org.uk - 2979015.jpg

Mossley—alongside neighbouring Stalybridge and Uppermill in Saddleworth—helped launch the annual Whit Friday Band Contest, an internationally known brass band event, which began in 1884 in Uppermill.{{cite web |title=Saddleworth and Oldham Whit Friday Band Contests |url=https://saddleworthwhitfriday.co.uk/band-contests/uppermill/ |access-date=16 February 2025}}

File:George Lawton Hall - geograph.org.uk - 1439956.jpg

George Lawton, the son of magistrate and alderman John Lawton, inherited a family fortune and when he died in August 1949, he left the bulk of his wealth to the people of Mossley. Part of his £77,760 wealth ({{inflation|GBP|77760|1949|r=-5|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) was left to build a public meeting place, the George Lawton Hall, which opened in 1960.{{cite web |title=George Lawton |url=https://openplaques.org/plaques/8031 |website=Open Plaques |access-date=16 February 2025}}

There are two tiers of local government covering Mossley, at civil parish (town) and metropolitan borough level: Mossley Town Council and Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council. Tameside Council is a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which is led by the directly-elected Mayor of Greater Manchester. There is a Mossley ward for elections to Tameside council, which covers a slightly larger area than the parish.{{cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=2 February 2025}}

Mossley Town Council generally meets at the Methodist Church on Chapel Street.{{cite web |title=Agendas |url=https://mossley-tc.gov.uk/document-category/agendas/ |website=Mossley Town Council |access-date=16 February 2025}}

The original hamlet of Mossley was in the parish of Ashton-under-Lyne in Lancashire, but lay very close to the boundaries with Cheshire and Yorkshire. As the town grew during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, the urban area came to straddle the three counties. To the east, it extended into the townships of Stayley and Tintwistle, both of which formed part of the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale in Cheshire. To the north, it extended into the township of Saddleworth, which was the part of Rochdale parish which lay in the West Riding of Yorkshire (the rest of Rochdale parish was in Lancashire).{{cite web |title=Mossley |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/place/1073 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=16 February 2025}}

In 1864, a Mossley local government district was established, with a newly-defined boundary that straddled the three counties and four townships. The district was administered by an elected local board.{{London Gazette|issue=22823|page=889|date=26 February 1864}}{{cite book|last=Nevell|first=Michael|title=Tameside 1700–1930|publisher=Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council|year=1993|series=A History and Archaeology of Tameside|page=17|chapter=Chapter 2: An Industrial Society|isbn=1-871324-08-4|oclc=53181546}}

File:Mossley Old Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 1563840 (cropped).jpg]]

Mossley was granted a municipal charter on 13 March 1885, which converted the local government district into a municipal borough, with a borough council replacing the board.{{cite book|last=Holt|first=Alfred|title=The Story of Mossley; Ancient and Modern|publisher=Mossley Civic Society|year=1974|orig-year=1926|page=9}}{{cite book|last=Nevell|first=Michael|title=Tameside 1700–1930|publisher=Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council|year=1993|series=A History and Archaeology of Tameside|page=11|chapter=Chapter 2: An Industrial Society|isbn=1-871324-08-4|oclc=53181546}}{{cite web |title=Mossley Municipal Borough |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10220737 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=16 February 2025}} The borough council bought Mossley Hall in 1891 to serve as its headquarters, renaming it the Town Hall.{{NHLE|desc=Former Mossley Town Hall|num=1068044 |access-date=25 February 2024}}

Elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888. The 1888 Act also directed that urban sanitary districts which straddled county boundaries, as the borough of Mossley did, were to be placed entirely in the county which had the majority of the district's population. Mossley was therefore placed entirely in Lancashire.{{cite book |last1=Pulling |first1=Alexander |title=A Handbook for County Authorities |date=1889 |publisher=William Clowes and Sons |location=London |pages=12, 15, 20 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_Handbook_for_County_Authorities/L2JHAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA15&printsec=frontcover |access-date=16 February 2025}} The borough continued to straddle four townships until 1894, when a single township or civil parish of Mossley was created covering the same area as the borough.{{cite book |title=Annual Report of the Local Government Board |date=1895 |page=240 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Annual_Report_of_the_Local_Government_Bo/gFIwAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA240&printsec=frontcover |access-date=16 February 2025}}

The borough of Mossley was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The area became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester.{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Local Government Act 1972|year=1972|chapter=70|schedule=1|access-date=15 January 2025}}

No successor parish was created for Mossley at the time of the 1974 reforms, and so it became unparished. A new civil parish of Mossley was established in 1999, with its council taking the name Mossley Town Council. The parish is divided into three wards for town council elections, called Cheshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire, reflecting the historic county boundaries.{{cite web |title=The Tameside (Parishes) Order 1999 |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20221202003100mp_/https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/12713/the-tameside-parishes-order-1999.pdf |website=Local Government Boundary Commission for England |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=16 February 2025}}{{cite web |title=Town History |url=https://mossley-tc.gov.uk/town-history/ |website=Mossley Town Council |access-date=16 February 2025}}

The town's unofficial coat of arms includes Cheshire's sheaf of corn, Lancashire's red rose and Yorkshire's white rose to signify the historic demarcation.

From 1918 to 1950 the town gave its name to the Mossley constituency which returned a Member of Parliament; for most of the period, the MP was Austin Hopkinson, who was notable for being elected as an Independent candidate. The town is now represented by the MP for Stalybridge and Hyde.

{{Expand section|date=May 2008}}

File:Mossley.jpg.]]

File:Mossley snow08.jpg and the Pennines makes it prone to precipitation.]]

Mossley lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines, on the western edge of Saddleworth Moor.

{{Geographic Location

|title = Neighbouring districts and places.

|Northwest = Grotton

|North = Friezland

|Northeast = Greenfield

|West = Oldham

|Centre = Mossley

|East = Saddleworth

|Southwest = Ashton-under-Lyne

|South = Stalybridge

|Southeast = Saddleworth Moor

}}

The eccesiastical parishes correspond to the boundaries of the historic counties:

• St. Joseph's Church, in the centre of Mossley, is Roman Catholic
• All Saints' Church is in Micklehurst, aligned to Cheshire
• St John the Baptist Church is of Yorkshire
• St George's Church is of Lancashire

• St. Joseph's R.C. Primary School
• Livingstone Primary School
• St. George's Primary School
• Milton St. John's Primary School
• All Saints Micklehurst

• Mossley Hollins High School

Mossley railway station is sited on the Huddersfield line. Services are operated by TransPennine Express to locations including Manchester Piccadilly, Stalybridge, Huddersfield, Leeds and Hull. {{Cite web |work=TransPennine Express |title=Timetables |date=21 May 2023 |access-date=1 July 2023 |url= https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/travel-updates/timetables |quote=}}

Several bus routes serve Mossley, including (as of January 2025):{{Cite web |title=Stops in Mossley |work=Bus Times |date=2023 |access-date=1 July 2023 |url= https://bustimes.org/localities/mossley-tameside |quote=}}

• 343: operated by Diamond North West (as part of the Bee Network) travelling between Hyde and Oldham; this is the only bus route to connect nearby Carrbrook with Mossley.
• 350: operated by Stagecoach Manchester (Bee Network) between Oldham and Ashton.
• 356: operated by Diamond North West (Bee Network), between Ashton-under-Lyne, Uppermill and Oldham.
• 357: operated by South Pennine Community Transport between Ashton-under-Lyne and Holmfirth (Tuesdays only); this is the only bus service connecting the town with the nearby county of West Yorkshire.

A tram network operated by the SHMD Joint Board ran lines through Mossley from 1904 to 1945, until their replacement by buses.{{cite web |title=Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley & Dukinfield Joint Transport and Electricity Board 1903-1969 |url=https://petergould.co.uk/fleetlists/shmd1/ |website=petergould.co.uk |access-date=29 March 2021}} The second-generation tramway Manchester Metrolink currently terminates at nearby Ashton-under-Lyne for connections to the city centre.

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter {{cite web |url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Winter_Hill |title=Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter|date=May 2004 |publisher=UK Free TV |access-date=30 November 2023}} and one of the two local relay transmitters (Saddleworth {{cite web |url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Saddleworth |title=Full Freeview on the Saddleworth (Oldham, England) transmitter|date=May 2004 |publisher=UK Free TV |access-date=30 November 2023}} and Brock Bottom {{cite web |url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Brook_Bottom |title=Freeview Light on the Brook Bottom (Tameside, England) transmitter|date=May 2004 |publisher=UK Free TV |access-date=30 November 2023}}).

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Manchester, Capital Manchester and Lancashire, Heart North West, Smooth North West, Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West, and Tameside Radio, a community based station.

The local newspaper is the Tameside Reporter, published on Thursdays.{{cite web|url=https://www.britishpapers.co.uk/england-nw/tameside-reporter/|title=Tameside Reporter|date=11 December 2013|website=British Papers|accessdate=30 November 2023}}

Mossley's French twin town is Hem, situated near Lille, in the Nord département.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

Local sport teams include Mossley A.F.C., Mossley Mayhem Softball Club, Mossley Athletic JFC, Mossley Juniors F.C., Mossley AFC Running Club and Micklehurst Cricket Club.

Mossley's Town Council passed a resolution in November 2009 to make Mossley a Fairtrade Town. A group of local campaigners and activist have started the Fairtrade Mossley group to make 2010 the year that Mossley becomes a Fairtrade Town.{{cite web|url=http://www.jurang.co.uk/fairtrade-mossley-campaign.html|title=Make Mossley Fairtrade; the Fair Trade Campaign for Mossley, Lancashire|website=JUrang.co.uk}}

• Ernest Sykes, recipient of the Victoria Cross{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
• Melanie Sykes, TV presenter and model{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
• John Mayall, mill owner and owner of the largest cotton spinning company in the world (1803–1878){{Cite web|title=Green Fingered George|url=https://greenfingeredgeorge.com/|access-date=2021-01-28|website=Green Fingered George|language=en-GB}}
• Jon Courtenay, Britain's Got Talent winner in 2020
• Lee Broadbent and Eoghan Clifford, members of the hard rock band Cabbage
• Ray Hill, anti-fascist
• Peter McGarr - British Award winning composer, lives in Mossley.

{{portal|Greater Manchester}}

• Listed buildings in Mossley

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category}}

• [http://www.mossleyweb.com Mossleyweb, The Original Official Mossley AFC Website]
• [http://www.mossley-council.co.uk Mossley Council] - Mossley Town Council's Web Site
• [http://www.mossleyonline.co.uk MossleyOnline, Mossley's Interactive Online Community]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071214010624/http://www.mossley.net/ Welcome to Mossley, History and Photo Guide to Mossley]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060526063504/http://www.tameside.gov.uk/corpgen/new/mossmenu.html Tameside Council] - Mossley Coat of Arms
• [http://www.mossleyhollins.com Mossley Hollins High School]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100625080826/http://www.mossleybusiness.org.uk/ Mossley Business Association] - Supporting Mossley's Businesses

{{Greater Manchester}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Towns in Greater Manchester

Category:Civil parishes in Greater Manchester

Category:Towns and villages of the Peak District

Category:Geography of Tameside