Part of his £77,760 wealth (equivalent to £3,500,000 in 2023) was left to build a public meeting place, the George Lawton Hall, which opened in 1960.

[9] The original hamlet of Mossley was in the parish of Ashton-under-Lyne in Lancashire, but lay very close to the boundaries with Cheshire and Yorkshire.

To the east, it extended into the townships of Stayley and Tintwistle, both of which formed part of the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale in Cheshire.

The parish is divided into three wards for town council elections, called Cheshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire, reflecting the historic county boundaries.

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 eccesiastical parishes correspond to the boundaries of the historic counties: Mossley railway station is sited on the Huddersfield line.

Services are operated by TransPennine Express to locations including Manchester Piccadilly, Stalybridge, Huddersfield, Leeds and Hull.

[24] The second-generation tramway Manchester Metrolink currently terminates at nearby Ashton-under-Lyne for connections to the city centre.

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