Cowley, Oxford

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Map sources for Cowley at grid reference SP5504

Cowley in Oxford, England, is a residential and industrial area that forms a small conurbation within greater Oxford. It has a population of about 16,500 people. Cowley's neighbours are central Oxford to the northwest, Rose Hill and Blackbird Leys to the south, New Headington to the north and the villages of Horspath and Garsington across fields to the east.

Cowley should not be confused with Cowley Road, which links central Oxford with Cowley.

1 History
2 Cowley today
3 Sports and leisure
4 External links

[edit] History

The Cowley area has been inhabited since early times. The line of a Roman road runs north-south along the eastern edge of Cowley. It linked a Roman town at Dorchester-on-Thames with a Roman military camp at Alchester near Bicester. A road called Roman Way follows part of its route. It is behind the Mini car factory, starting opposite the Stagecoach Group bus garage.

Cowley originated from the former villages of Cowley, Temple Cowley and Cowley St John (Also occasionally referred to as 'Church Cowley'). Cowley was a manor from Mediaeval times, and a 16th century manor house stood on Oxford Road near the corner with Hollow Way. The house became part of a military training college which was built on its grounds in the 19th century. In 1864, the Wycombe Railway between High Wycombe and Oxford was built through Cowley, but at this time the village was so small that the railway company did not provide it with a station.

In 1866, the Society of St. John the Evangelist, an Anglican religious order was founded in Cowley. SSJE was the first long-lasting Anglican religious order since the reformation. The members were frequently known as the "Cowley Fathers".

In 1868 the Oxford Steam Plough Company was founded in Cowley. This later became John Allen & Sons, manufacturing small agricultural and horticultural machinery including the famous Allen Scythe powered by a small Villiers petrol engine. In the early 1980s the works closed, and the John Allen Centre retail park has since been built on the site.

The Cowley area was transformed after 1912 when William Morris bought the former military college and moved the Morris Motor Company into it from its former premises in Oxford. He expanded into 'The Old Tin Shed' in 1914 and then into a huge complex of purpose built production lines in Cowley, as Morris pioneered Henry Ford-style mass production in the UK.

The Great Western Railway, which had taken over the Wycombe Railway, opened a station called Morris Cowley to serve some of the thousands of workers commuting to the factory. In 1933 a goods yard was built beside the line to bring supplies into the factory and take completed vehicles away.

From the 1920s through to the 1960s Cowley expanded into a huge industrial centre. In the Great Depression many people left areas of high unemployment such as South Wales and moved to the Cowley area to work in Cowley's factories. Large areas of housing were built and rented out to the migrants.

Florence Park was one area built in the 1920s for a private landlord to rent to new workers. The houses looked nice but they were badly built and maintained, until the tenants held a rent strike and forced the landlord to make repairs. Most Florence Park houses are now owner-occupied, and the area's tree-lined roads are now an attractive neighbourhood in which to live.

During the 1960s the centre of Cowley was demolished and replaced with Templars Square shopping centre. In the same decade the railway between Princes Risborough and Oxford closed, but the track between Kennington Junction and Cowley remains open for freight in and out of the car factory.

Despite successive company mergers and name changes, "Morris's" is still often used as the name of the car factory to this day. In 1952 Morris Motors became part of the British Motor Corporation (BMC), in 1968 BMC became British Leyland, in the 1980s the group was known as Austin Rover, in the 1990s it was Rover Group and since 2001 the factory has been owned by BMW. But the name "Morris's" is ingrained in local culture and speech habits, particularly amongst older inhabitants.

By the early 1970s over 20,000 people worked in Cowley at the vast Morris Motors and Pressed Steel Fisher plants. Unipart is also a major employer in Cowley, with premises next to the car factory. Also notable is the high level of political conciousness within the working class based in and around the Cowley area. Indeed, the worker's are well known for not accepting wage cuts, Trade Union busting or anything else of the sort. It should also be noted that Alan Thornett, veteran leader of the International working class, worked for a period in local car plant. The plant is now closed down.

Once when Alan Thornett was in Cowley he was called 'a bug eyed maniac' by supporters of Gerry Healy. It is also rumoured that Alan (nicknamed 'the Cowley beast' by friends and foes alike) won back the 'Best Garden' and 'Superb shrubbery' awards for Cowley, after years of Cowley losing to a local Village.

In later years Morris Motors and Pressed Steel became one company. Subsequently the Morris's site was closed down, demolished, and redeveloped as a business park.

[edit] Cowley today

The remaining part of the car factory is now owned by BMW. It remains the largest industrial employer in Oxfordshire and is now the production centre for the MINI. The business park has attracted a large David Lloyd fitness centre and offices of numerous companies including the European headquarters of Harley-Davidson Motorcycles.

[edit] Sports and leisure

Cowley has a strong sporting tradition. Between the two World Wars, Oxford Stadium was built to host the then new sport of greyhound racing.[1] In 1939 the equally new sport of motorcycle speedway moved to Oxford Stadium. After a few years Oxford's speedway team were named Oxford Cheetahs,[2] a name they still bear today. In 2001, Oxford United FC moved from its former ground in Headington to the new Kassam Stadium at Minchery Farm, which is just outside Cowley.

In Watlington Road opposite the MINI factory is Johnson's Café, which in the past has fed many thousands of Morris Motors workers. It was founded decades ago by Len Johnson and to this day its interior is decorated with bold murals of early speedway stars. Len's son Joe Johnson was an international motocross star in the 1960s until he settled down to take over the family café. The café remains in the family today under Len's grandson Bob Johnson.

Temple Cowley Pools in Temple Road is a public swimming and gymnasium complex run by Oxford City Council [3]. Its main pool is 25 metres long. Next door is Cowley Library, [4] run by Oxfordshire County Council. Morris Motors Athletic & Social Club in nearby Crescent Road has a large sports ground and club house.