Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester. The historic counties of Lancashire,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

and the West Riding of Yorkshire meet in Mossley and local government

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

and church parishes correspond to their boundaries. Mossley had a population of 10,921 at the 2011 Census. It is the only parished area of Tameside, having had a parish council since 1999.

History

Toponymy

Believed to originate in around 1319, the name Mossley means "a woodland clearing by a swamp or bog".

Events

Mossley—alongside neighbouring

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 23,731 at the 2011 Census. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east of Manchester city centre and no ...

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.

Public venue

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 () was left to build a public meeting place, the George Lawton Hall.

Notable people

* Ernest Sykes, recipient of the Victoria Cross * Melanie Sykes, TV presenter and model *John Mayall, Mill Owner and owner of the largest cotton spinning company in the world (1803–1878) * Jon Courtenay, '' Britain's Got Talent'' winner in 2020 * Lee Broadbent and Eoghan Clifford, - members of the hard rock band

Cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...

* Ray Hill, anti-fascist

Governance

Following the passing of the Public Health Act 1848 and the Local Government Act 1857, a Local Board of Health was established in Mossley in 1864. On 13 March 1885 Mossley was granted a Charter of Incorporation to become a municipal borough, replacing the local board. The whole borough was unified under the administrative county of Lancashire under the Local Government Act 1888. In 1974 the borough of Mossley was absorbed under the provisions of the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

into the new

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolitan ...

of Tameside in the

metropolitan county The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, with populations between 1 and 3 million. They were created in 1974 and are each di ...

of Greater Manchester. It became an unparished area. Under the provisions of the Local Government and Rating Act 1997 local electors were given the right to request that a new parish and council be created in unparished areas. The people of Mossley exercised this right and a civil parish for Mossley was established in 1999. The civil parish council voted to adopt town status and Mossley now has a town mayor. The town has three parish wards based on the historic county borders, with four members representing the Cheshire part, three members the Lancashire part and two members the Yorkshire part. 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.

Parliament

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 Austin Hopkinson JP (24 June 1879 – 2 September 1962) was a British industrialist and Member of Parliament (MP) who represented Mossley as an Independent from 1918 to 1929 and 1931 to 1945. He was also a noted benefactor to local causes, and ...

, who was notable for being elected as an Independent candidate. The town is now represented by the MP for

Stalybridge and Hyde Stalybridge and Hyde is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Jonathan Reynolds, a member of Labour Co-op. Constituency profile The constituency lies on the lower slopes of the Pennines and b ...

Geography

Mossley lies amongst the foothills of the

, on the western edge of

Saddleworth Moor Saddleworth Moor is a moorland in North West England. Reaching more than above sea level, it is in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park. It is crossed by the A635 road and the Pennine Way passes to its eastern side. Geography ...

Churches

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, Cheshire. * St John the Baptist Church is of Yorkshire. *

St George Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...

's Church is of Lancashire.

Education

Primary schools

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

Secondary school

Mossley Hollins High School Mossley Hollins High School is a coeducational secondary school located in Mossley, in the borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester. The school's original building was opened in the 1960s. Mossley Hollins ranked eighth in Tameside in the most rece ...

Transport

The town is served by Mossley railway station. Several bus routes serve Mossley, including the 350 operated by FirstGroup and the 356, operated by Nexus Move, which operate routes between Ashton-under-Lyne, Uppermill and Oldham. The town is also served by the 343, operated by Stotts, travelling between Hyde and Oldham. This is the only bus route to connect nearby Carrbrook to Mossley. A tram network operated by the

SHMD Joint Board Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley & Dukinfield Tramways & Electricity Board (SHMD) was a public transport and electricity supply organisation formed by Act of Parliament in August 1901. It was a joint venture between the borough councils of Stalybri ...

ran lines through Mossley from 1904 to 1945, until their replacement by buses. The second-generation tramway Manchester Metrolink currently terminates at nearby Ashton-under-Lyne for connections to the city centre.

Twinning

Mossley's French twin town is Hem, situated near Lille, in the Nord département.

Sport

Local sport teams include

Mossley A.F.C. Mossley Association Football Club is a football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the ...

, Mossley Mayhem Softball Club, Mossley Athletic JFC, Mossley Juniors F.C., Mossley AFC Running Club and Micklehurst Cricket Club.

Fairtrade

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.

Culture

Chris Cyprus, landscape artist, lives in Mossley.

References

External links

Mossleyweb, The Original Official Mossley AFC WebsiteMossley Council
- Mossley Town Council's Web Site
MossleyOnline, Mossley's Interactive Online CommunityWelcome to Mossley, History and Photo Guide to Mossley
- Mossley Coat of Arms
Mossley Hollins High SchoolMossley Business Association
- Supporting Mossley's Businesses {{authority control Towns in Greater Manchester Civil parishes in Greater Manchester Towns and villages of the Peak District Geography of Tameside