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Mossley
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Mossley is a small town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. The town is located in the upper section of the Tame valley in the foothills of the Pennines, northeast of Ashton-under-Lyne and east of Manchester.
Mossley has the distinction of being situated at the conjunction of the historic county boundaries of Lancashire, Cheshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. Local warding and ecclesiastic matters are maintained in Mossley according to these boundaries. At the the 2001 census Mossley had a population of 9,856.
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Encyclopedia
Mossley is a small town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. The town is located in the upper section of the Tame valley in the foothills of the Pennines, northeast of Ashton-under-Lyne and east of Manchester.
Mossley has the distinction of being situated at the conjunction of the historic county boundaries of Lancashire, Cheshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. Local warding and ecclesiastic matters are maintained in Mossley according to these boundaries. At the the 2001 census Mossley had a population of 9,856. 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 and Uppermill in Saddleworth, Greater Manchester - 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.
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.
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 into the new metropolitan borough of Tameside in the metropolitan county 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 historical 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, who was notable for being elected as an Independent candidate. The town is now represented by the MP for Stalybridge and Hyde. However, in keeping with the history of the town, Mossley is now represented by fiercely non-political Independent local Councillors - the only such representatives in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside.
Geography
Mossley lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines, on the western edge of Saddleworth Moor.
Churches
The eccesiastical parishes correspond to the boundaries of the historic counties:
- St George's church is of Lancashire.
- St John the Baptist church is of Yorkshire.
- is in Micklehurst, Cheshire.
Education
Primary Schools
- St. Josephs RC Primary School
- Livingstone
- St. George's Primary School
- Milton St. John
- Micklehurst All Saints
Secondary School
- Mossley Hollins High School
Twinning
Mossley's French twin town is Hem, situated near Lille, in the Nord département.
Sport
Local sport teams include Mossley A.F.C. and Micklehurst Cricket Club.
Notable people
Mossley is the birthplace of TV actress and presenter Melanie Sykes.
External links
- - Mossley Town Council's Web Site
- - Mossley Coat of Arms
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