Mawdesley is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England, which had a population of 1,702 at the 2011 Census.

History

The name Mawdesley is thought to have originated in the reign of Edward I (1272–1308). The suffix -''ley'' describes a field, meadow or clearing. Records show that a manor existed in 1250 AD on the site of the present Mawdesley Hall.

Mawdesley Hall Mawdesley Hall is a country manor in Hall Lane, Mawdesley, Chorley, Lancashire, England. It consists of a central hall with two cross-wings. The central hall was built in the 17th century, its lower storey being timber-framed and its upp ...

is a small hall on a back road leading into the village. It was built by William Mawdesley in 1625, but altered towards the end of the 18th century.Grade I listed building
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Transport

The village is isolated from public transport services. No main roads pass through the enclave. An infrequent day time bus service runs from the centre of the village to Chorley and Southport. The nearest

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

is three miles away at Rufford. The local roads are minor back lanes, mostly narrow, unlit, lacking pavements, poorly maintained and generally unsuitable for the high volume of large 4x4 commuter vehicles and heavy farm traffic they now take.

Religion

St Peter and St Paul's Catholic Church, at OS grid reference SD508146, Salt Pit Lane, was founded in 1830. The Wesleyan Methodist church, New Street, was founded before 1893 from religious societies founded by

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

and his preachers and was at OS grid reference SD493150. St Peter's CE Church, High Street, Mawdesley with Bispham, was founded in 1839 and is at OS grid reference SD489143.

Education

The village has two small primary schools, Mawdesley St Peter's C of E School, and St Peter and Paul's Catholic School. Little Acorns Pre-school operates from within Mawdesley St Peter's C of E School and serves Mawdesley and the surrounding villages, providing play-based learning for three to five-year olds.

Geography

The village sits on a low rise from the surrounding flat mossland of Mawdesley Moss. Mawdesley Moss is an extremely flat, industrially farmed, isolated area of mossland. The nearest hill, Harrock Hill (515 ft) belongs to the neighbouring parishes of Hilldale and Wrightington. This low, rolling hill is visible in some areas of Mawdesley and serves as a landmark from the surrounding flat landscape. Mawdesley is a straggling village, with fragmented areas of residential ribbon development along the various back roads in the parish. As such Mawdesley lacks the clearly defined centre, and sense of place found in neighbouring villages like Croston and Parbold.

Notable residents

*Former

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

and

cricketer

Jack Iddon John Iddon (8 January 1902 – 17 April 1946) was an English professional cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1924 to 1945, and in five Test matches for England in 1935. He was born at Mawdesley, Lancashire, and died f ...

was born in Mawdesley in 1902. *Fr. James Mawdsley, FSSP *Thomas J. Cowley, Military major

References

Sources

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6 William Farrer & J. Brownbill (editors)

External links

Mawdesley Community Website
Mawdesley-village.org.uk. {{authority control Geography of Chorley Villages in Lancashire Civil parishes in Lancashire