Mossley 5.12

Mossley is a small town in Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, 3mi southeast of Oldham and 8.9mi east of Manchester.The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire meet in Mossley and local government wards 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.HistoryToponymyBelieved to originate in around 1319, the name Mossley means "a woodland clearing by a swamp or bog".EventsMossley - alongside neighbouring Stalybridge 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 venueGeorge 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.