Mawdesley

Mawdesley
St. Peter's Church
Mawdesley Shown within Chorley Borough Show map of the Borough of Chorley Mawdesley Location within Lancashire Show map of Lancashire
Population	1,702 (2011)
OS grid reference	SD491145
Civil parish	Mawdesley
District	Chorley
Shire county	Lancashire
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ORMSKIRK
Postcode district	L40
Dialling code	01704
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Chorley
List of places UK England Lancashire 53°37′26″N2°46′12″W / 53.624°N 2.770°W / 53.624; -2.770

Mawdesley is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England, which had a population of 1,702 as per the 2011 Census. ^[1]

History

Mawdesley Hall

The name Mawdesley is thought to have originated in the reign of Edward I (1272–1308). The suffix -ley describes a field, meadow or clearing. Records show that a manor existed in 1250 AD on the site of the present Mawdesley Hall.

Mawdesley supported willow farming and basket-making in the 19th century, ^[2] with the growing conditions notable for producing strong and durable rods. ^[3] The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation lists the 'Mawdesley' willow variety as being named for the village. ^[4]

Mawdesley Hall is a small hall on a back road leading into the village. It was built by William Mawdesley in 1625, but altered towards the end of the 18th century. ^[5]

Transport

The village has limited public transport services. Hourly bus services runs through the centre of the village to Chorley, Ormskirk and Southport. The nearest railway station is three miles away at Rufford.

Bus Services include: 337 Chorley to Ormskirk via Charnock Richard, Eccleston, Croston, Mawdesley, Parbold and Burscough

347 Chorley to Southport via Charnock Richard, Eccleston, Croston, Mawdesley, Rufford, Holmeswood, Banks and Crossens.

Religion

In common with the rest of Lancashire, ^[6] Mawdesley was home to a number of Catholic recusants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Nearly a quarter of adult men in the village were listed as recusants in the Protestation Returns of 1641, ^[7] and in 1717 a large number of Catholic yeomen had registered estates in the village. ^[8]

St Peter and St Paul's Catholic Church, at OS grid reference SD508146, Salt Pit Lane, was founded in 1830. The Wesleyan Methodist church on New Street was built in 1844 ^[9] from religious societies founded by John Wesley and his preachers and was at OS grid reference SD493150. St Peter's CE Church, High Street, Mawdesley with Bispham, was founded in 1840 ^[10] and is at OS grid reference SD489143.

Education

The village has two small primary schools, Mawdesley St Peter's C of E School, and St Peter and Paul's Catholic School. Little Acorns pre-school operates from within Mawdesley St Peter's C of E School and serves Mawdesley and the surrounding villages, providing play-based learning for three to five-year olds.

Geography

Mawdesley Moss Wind Farm

The village sits on a low rise from the surrounding Mawdesley Moss, a flat, intensively-farmed plain. The moss forms the eastern edge of the West Lancashire Coastal Plain with the neighouring Croston Moss and contains a three-turbine 2,250kW wind farm. ^[11]

The River Douglas runs along the western boundary of the moss, flowing north to meet the River Ribble at Hesketh Bank. The Syd, Reed and Bentley brooks and a number of sluices run through the village into the Douglas, and the moss contains a pumping station. ^[12] The Rufford branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal runs alongside the river in this area, having superseded the Douglas Navigation as a trading route in the 18th century. ^[13]

The nearest hill, Harrock Hill (515 ft) belongs to the neighbouring parishes of Hilldale and Wrightington. This low, rolling hill is visible in some areas of Mawdesley and, with the wind farm, serves as a landmark from the surrounding flat landscape.

Sport

Mawdesley Cricket Club is based in the village. Historically playing in the Palace Shield competition, the club will play in the Northern Premier Cricket League in 2024, the top tier of club cricket in England and Wales.

Notable residents

• Former England and Wales and Lancashire cricketer Jack Iddon was born in Mawdesley in 1902.
• Fr. James Mawdsley, FSSP

See also

• Listed buildings in Mawdesley

References

1. UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Mawdesley Parish (E04005156)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 26 March 2021.
2. Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1911). A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. London: Victoria County History. p. 96-100.
3. Dallimore, William (1908). "A Lancashire Willow Farm". Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew). 1908 (9): 416–419. doi:10.2307/4113218 . Retrieved 23 July 2024.
4. Kozovkina, Yulia A. (November 2015). CHECKLIST for CULTIVARS of Salix L. (willow). Food and Agriculture Organisation International Poplar Commission. p. 12. ISBN   978-0-692-56242-0.
5. Grade I listed building
6. Thrush, Andrew; Ferris, John P., eds. (2010). The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1604-1629. London: Cambridge University Press.
7. Gibson, Miriam (10 January 2022). "The Protestation Returns, Lancashire and Recusants". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 July 2024. Of the 199 people whose names appear on the Protestant Return for the parish of Mawdesley, 48 of them were recorded as "papists" who refused to take the oath.
8. Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1911). A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. London: Victoria County History. p. 96-100. A large number of yeomen 'Papists' registered estates in Mawdesley in 1717
9. Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1911). A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. London: Victoria County History. p. 96-100.
10. Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1911). A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. London: Victoria County History. p. 96-100.
11. "Mawdesley Moss". The Wind Power. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
12. "Mawdesley pumping station, east of Rufford". Geograph. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
13. Clarke, Mike (1990). The Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Carnegie Press. ISBN   978-0-948789-40-3.

Sources

• A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6 William Farrer & J. Brownbill (editors)

External links

• Mawdesley Community Website Mawdesley-village.org.uk.