Mawdesley

"MAWDESLEY, a township in the parish of Croston, hundred of Leyland, county Lancaster, 7 miles from Ormskirk, its post town, 8 W. by S. of Chorley, and 2 from the Rufford station on the East Lancashire railway. The village, which is small, is situated on a branch of the river Douglas, and is wholly agricultural. The soil consists of stiff clay. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Manchester, value £150, in the patronage of the Rector of Croston. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a stone structure built in 1840. It has a small spired tower containing one bell. There is a National school for both sexes, in, which a Sunday-school is held. There are schools and places of worship for he Roman Catholics and Wesleyan Methodists. Mawexley Hall, still the principal residence, was formerly the family seat of the Mawdesleys. It is situated on a rock of red sandstone. Courts leet and baron are held annually at Michaelmas by Sir Thomas Hesketh, Bart., and John Randolphus de Trafford, Esq., who are the lords of the manor and principal landowners."