Wool

It was essentially a woollen cloth manufacturing and farming community and there is still evidence of this, in the shape of the remaining handloom weavers cottages situated on Carrhill and Stockport Road.

Until the nineteenth century, Mossley didn't have a seperate identity to that of Ashton, neither was the town within one  county, being made up of parts Lancashire, Yorkshire,  and Cheshire.  The three largest churches in Mossley mark them:-

• St. Georges being Lancashire
• St John the Baptist's, Yorkshire.
• All Saint's, Cheshire.

Cotton

The history of the Mossley in existance today, is mostly that of the nineteenth century cotton industry.  Cotton took over from wool after 1830 with the invention of the power loom even though , due to the lack of coal and excessive amount of water required for manufacture, it took a while for the industry to become successful in the area.

The cotton trade had reached it's peak by 1913 and the small town could no longer satisfy the demand.  Although the war provided an extension to the dyeing trade, Mossley wasn't rich enough to compete.  Unemployment reached the highest figures ever and the population dropped from thirteen thousand, two hundred and five, in 1911, to twelve thousand and forty one in 1931. 

A year later Mossley Wool Combing and Spinning Company was established and was very successful, saving the future of the town. Until about 25 years ago, they were the largest employer in Mossley, most families having one or more members who worked for them. The second world war demanded labour, enabling the unemployment figures to decrease once more, and this continued throughout peacetime.  By 1971 the population of Mossley had increased by 261 from only ten years earlier.

Communications improved greatly following the link to Ashton via the tram network, in July 1904.  Suddenly Mossley was no longer isolated.  This continued with the introduction of electric buses from Ashton to Brook Bottom, in 1925.

Civic buildings

St. Johns Centre serves as a local community centre, but the George Lawton Hall, a handsome building in itself, is the main venue site, being equipped with facilities for various functions, including the staging of local drama productions and pantomimes as well as various sporting tournaments and leisure functions. Here also is the local point of contact for Council services in the Information Centre.

The Town Hall and its grounds which make up Mossley park (now in private ownership), are situated on the hill dividing Top and Bottom Mossley, where there are a lovely array of flower beds on show.Here also is the local bowling green and Mossley Cenotaph commemorating the dead of the wars.

Churches

St. Georges Church, in the former Lancashire Ward of the town, dates from the mid eighteenth century and cost six hundred pounds to build. However, by 1879 the church had begun to fall down and a new foundation stone was laid.  The tower was built five years after the rest of the building, to house the bells and clock.