EARLY HISTORY

The name 'Mossley' has two elements: 'Moss', meaning a bog or swamp, and 'leah', indicating a clearing in a wood. Although the Assheton Records state that in 1309, Henry, son of William de Mossley, claimed land which afterwards became known as the Hamlet of Mossley, prior to the 19^th Century, Mossley was included in the Manor of Ashton and had no separate existence. The town was situated in three counties, Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire and its three parts are still clearly defined by the positions of the parish churches: St. George's (Lancashire), St. John the Baptist's (Yorkshire) and All Saints (Cheshire). This created many administrative problems, even when after the passing of the 1884 Local Government Act, Mossley was allowed its own Local Board of Commissioners. This was one of the main reasons for the granting of the town's Charter of incorporation on 13^th March 1885, despite the relatively small size of the Borough, which had only 13,000 inhabitants. The town's position was reflected in Mossley's coat-of-arms, which shows three square divisions at the top of the shield, containing a sheaf of corn for Cheshire, a Red Rose for Lancashire and a White Rose for Yorkshire. The lower space holds a Cotton Plant to represent the town's chief industry in 1885, together with Wavy Lines which denote the River Tame. The Latin motto is 'Floret qui laborat': 'He flourishes who labours'.

In 1770, Mossley was still a hamlet, the main industry being farming and woollen cloth manufacture. Many of the houses were three storeys high and there and at several farms, wool was carded, spun and woven in the attics. There are terraces of handloom weavers in Mossley, still, such as those on Staley Road, Stockport Road and Carrhill Road, though many have been modernised.