Cowley, Oxford
Encyclopedia
Cowley in Oxford
, England
, is a residential and industrial area that forms a small conurbation within greater Oxford. 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.
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 in Oxfordshire bus garage.
Cowley coalesced 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. In 1139, Matilda of Boulogne
founded Temple Cowley here for the Knights Templar
.
The house became part of the Oxford Military 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
, a Church of England
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 Eddison and Nodding Company factory was founded in Cowley. John Allen bought it in 1897 and renamed it the Oxford Steam Plough Company. He later renamed it again as John Allen and Sons, and diversified into manufacturing other agricultural and horticultural machinery including the successful Allen Scythe
powered by a small Villiers
petrol engine. The works closed in the early 1980s, and the John Allen Centre retail park has since been built on the site.
The Oxford Military College
bought the former Cowley Middle Class School in 1876. The College hall, a former manor house, was built in the early 17th century. The Chapel of 1870 was designed by the architect Edward George Bruton
. An east wing designed by Sir Thomas Graham Jackson
was added in 1877. The Oxford Military College closed in 1896, developed from 1912 by William Morris as the Cowley plant
.
During the 1960s, the centre of Cowley was demolished and replaced with Templars Square shopping centre (previously it had been known as "Cowley Centre", and sometimes still is). 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.
Between 1980 and 1992 the Headquarters of the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation
(UKWMO) was located in a converted barracks complex on James Wolf Road, Cowley. The UKWMO was the organisation responsible for initiating the famous Four-minute warning in the event of a nuclear attack on the UK and was disbanded at the end of the Cold War
. Co-located with HQUKWMO was the Headquarters of No 3 Oxford Group Royal Observer Corps
whose underground protected nuclear bunker at the Cowley site opened in 1965 and was demolished and filled in during 1995. The site now houses a student accommodation block for Oxford Brookes University
.
bought the former Oxford 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. This yard still exists and serves the current vehicle-manufacturing plant, though the railway beyond has long been lifted.
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 poorly 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 a popular neighbourhood in which to live.
In World War II
the Morris factory produced many de Havilland Tiger Moth
training aeroplanes for the war effort and there was also the No 1 Metal and Produce Recovery Depot run by the Civilian Repair Organisation to handle crashed or damaged aircraft and even the wreckage of enemy aircraft was processed here. Paul Nash
was inspired to paint Totes Meer based on sketches he made of the recovery depot.
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 consciousness within the working class based in and around the Cowley area. Indeed, the workers are well known for not accepting wage cuts, union-busting
or anything else of the sort. Among the militants involved in trade unionism at Cowley are Alan Thornett
.
In later years Morris Motors
and Pressed Steel became one company. Subsequently the Morris's site was closed down, demolished, and redeveloped as the Oxford Business Park
.
is known today as Plant Oxford
and is now owned by BMW
and has been extensively redeveloped. It remains the largest industrial employer in Oxfordshire
employing more than 4,300 people. It was the original base of Morris cars when the marque was founded in 1912, and production continued at the factory until 1982, although the Morris marque was not abandoned until 1984 when production of the Longbridge-built
Morris Ital
finished. The factory then became the production facility for the Maestro
and Montego
, which continued in production until 1994 by which time the facility was totally given over to production of the Rover 600
and Rover 800
. These models were replaced by the Rover 75
in late 1998, but BMW
broke up the Rover Group
in 2000 and Rover 75 production moved to Longbridge, while BMW retained ownership of the Cowley plant to build the all-new MINI
that was launched in the spring of 2001. It has been the best selling car to be built at the plant since the Maestro and Montego in the 1980s.
The business park has attracted a large David Lloyd fitness centre and offices of numerous companies including the European headquarters of Harley-Davidson
Motorcycle
s and the headquarters of international aid charity Oxfam GB
.
. 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, 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.
Until 2009 on Watlington Road, opposite the MINI factory, stood Johnson's Café, which fed thousands of Morris Motors workers in the past. It was founded decades ago by Len Johnson and until its final day its interior was 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 remained in the family to the end under Len's grandson Bob Johnson. This cafe suffered an armed robbery on 16 January 2008 and closed in 2009. The building is now occupied by Oxford Spin & Fitness centre.
Temple Cowley Pools in Temple Road is a public swimming and gymnasium complex run by Oxford
City Council. Its main pool is 25 metres long. It is built on the site of part of a former Knights Templar estate. http://archive.oxfordmail.net/2006/5/26/96520.html Next door is Cowley Library
, and opposite is Oxfordshire Record Office
, both run by Oxfordshire County Council
. Morris Motors Athletic
& Social Club in nearby Crescent Road has a large sports ground and club house.
album), the comedian and satirist Bill Hicks
stated that he had found the 'Alabama of Britain' whilst attending a radio interview in Cowley.
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, is a residential and industrial area that forms a small conurbation within greater Oxford. Cowley's neighbours are central Oxford to the northwest, Rose Hill
Rose Hill, Oxford
Rose Hill is a city council estate. It is located on the south-eastern outskirts of Oxford, England.According to the 2001 Census, the population of Rose Hill and the adjoining village of Iffley was 4,667....
and Blackbird Leys
Blackbird Leys
Blackbird Leys is a civil parish and ward in Oxford, England, and is one of the largest council estates in Europe. According to the 2001 census, the ward had a population of 5,803. Unlike most parts of the City of Oxford, the area has a civil parish. The parish was created in 1990. Its 2001 parish...
to the south, New Headington
Headington
Headington is a suburb of Oxford, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames Valley below. The life of the large residential area is centred upon London Road, the main road between London and Oxford.-History:...
to the north and the villages of Horspath
Horspath
Horspath is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire about east of the centre of Oxford, England.-Archaeology:The parish's western boundary largely follows the course of a Roman road that linked Dorchester on Thames and Alchester Roman Town. In the Romano-British period there were pottery...
and Garsington
Garsington
Garsington is a village and civil parish about southeast of Oxford in Oxfordshire.-Notable Garsington buildings:The earliest part of the Church of England parish church of Saint Mary is the Norman tower, built towards the end of the 12th century. The Gothic Revival architect Joseph Clarke restored...
across fields to the east.
Cowley should not be confused with Cowley Road
Cowley Road, Oxford
Cowley Road is an arterial road in the city of Oxford, England, following a southeasterly route from the city centre at The Plain roundabout near Magdalen Bridge, through the inner city area of East Oxford, and into the industrial suburb of Cowley...
, which links central Oxford with Cowley.
History
The Cowley area has been inhabited since early times. The line of a Roman roadRoman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
runs north-south along the eastern edge of Cowley. It linked a Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
town at Dorchester-on-Thames
Dorchester, Oxfordshire
Dorchester-on-Thames is a village and civil parish on the River Thame in Oxfordshire, about northwest of Wallingford and southeast of Oxford. Despite its name, Dorchester is not on the River Thames, but just above the Thame's confluence with it...
with a Roman military
Military history of ancient Rome
From its origin as a city-state in Italy in the 8th century BC, to its rise as an empire covering much of Southern Europe, Western Europe, Near East and North Africa and fall in the 5th century AD, the political history of Ancient Rome was typically closely entwined with its military history...
camp at Alchester near Bicester
Bicester
Bicester is a town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in England.This historic market centre is one of the fastest growing towns in Oxfordshire Development has been favoured by its proximity to junction 9 of the M40 motorway linking it to London, Birmingham and...
. A road called Roman Way follows part of its route. It is behind the Mini car factory, starting opposite the Stagecoach in Oxfordshire bus garage.
Cowley coalesced 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
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
Road near the corner with Hollow Way. In 1139, Matilda of Boulogne
Matilda of Boulogne
Matilda I was suo jure Countess of Boulogne. She was also queen consort of England as the wife of King Stephen.-Biography:...
founded Temple Cowley here for the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
.
The house became part of the Oxford Military College
Oxford Military College
Oxford Military College was an all-male private boarding school and military academy in Cowley, Oxford, England, from 1876–1896. The military college opened on 7 September 1876. Prince George, Duke of Cambridge was the patron of the Oxford Military College....
which was built on its grounds in the 19th century. In 1864, the Wycombe Railway
Wycombe Railway
The Wycombe Railway was a British railway between and that connected with the Great Western Railway at both ends; there was one branch, to .-History:The Wycombe Railway Company was incorporated by an act of Parliament passed in 1846...
between High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
and Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
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
Society of St. John the Evangelist
The Society of St John the Evangelist is an Anglican religious order for men. The members live under a rule of life and, at profession, make monastic vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience. The SSJE was founded in 1866 at Cowley, Oxford, England, by the Father Richard Meux Benson, a priest in the...
, a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
religious order
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
, was founded in Cowley. SSJE was the first long-lasting Anglican religious order since the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. The members were frequently known as the "Cowley Fathers".
In 1868 the Eddison and Nodding Company factory was founded in Cowley. John Allen bought it in 1897 and renamed it the Oxford Steam Plough Company. He later renamed it again as John Allen and Sons, and diversified into manufacturing other agricultural and horticultural machinery including the successful Allen Scythe
Allen Scythe
The Allen Scythe, sometimes referred to as Allen Power Scythe, is a petrol-powered finger-bar mower. It was made from 1935 until 1973 by John Allen and Sons in Cowley, Oxfordshire...
powered by a small Villiers
Villiers Engineering
Villiers Engineering was a manufacturer of motorcycles and cycle parts, and an engineering company based in Villiers Street, Wolverhampton, England....
petrol engine. The works closed in the early 1980s, and the John Allen Centre retail park has since been built on the site.
The Oxford Military College
Oxford Military College
Oxford Military College was an all-male private boarding school and military academy in Cowley, Oxford, England, from 1876–1896. The military college opened on 7 September 1876. Prince George, Duke of Cambridge was the patron of the Oxford Military College....
bought the former Cowley Middle Class School in 1876. The College hall, a former manor house, was built in the early 17th century. The Chapel of 1870 was designed by the architect Edward George Bruton
Edward George Bruton
Edward George Bruton was a British Gothic Revival architect who practiced in Oxford. He was made an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1855 and a Fellow of the RIBA in 1861.-Work:...
. An east wing designed by Sir Thomas Graham Jackson
Thomas Graham Jackson
Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, 1st Baronet RA was one of the most distinguished English architects of his generation...
was added in 1877. The Oxford Military College closed in 1896, developed from 1912 by William Morris as the Cowley plant
Plant Oxford
Plant Oxford located in Cowley, Oxford, is the central assembly facility for the MINI range of cars. The plant forms the Mini production triangle along with Plant Hams Hall where engines are manufactured and Plant Swindon where body pressings and sub-assemblies are built.-History:In 1912, William...
.
During the 1960s, the centre of Cowley was demolished and replaced with Templars Square shopping centre (previously it had been known as "Cowley Centre", and sometimes still is). In the same decade the railway between Princes Risborough
Princes Risborough
Princes Risborough is a small town in Buckinghamshire, England, about 9 miles south of Aylesbury and 8 miles north west of High Wycombe. Bledlow lies to the west and Monks Risborough to the east. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through the Chilterns,...
and Oxford closed, but the track between Kennington Junction and Cowley remains open for freight in and out of the car factory.
Between 1980 and 1992 the Headquarters of the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation
United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation
The United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation was a British civilian organisation operating between 1957 and 1992 to provide the authorities with data about nuclear explosions and forecasts of likely fallout profiles across the country in the event of war.The UKWMO was established and...
(UKWMO) was located in a converted barracks complex on James Wolf Road, Cowley. The UKWMO was the organisation responsible for initiating the famous Four-minute warning in the event of a nuclear attack on the UK and was disbanded at the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Co-located with HQUKWMO was the Headquarters of No 3 Oxford Group Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
whose underground protected nuclear bunker at the Cowley site opened in 1965 and was demolished and filled in during 1995. The site now houses a student accommodation block for Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University is a new university in Oxford, England. It was named to honour the school's founding principal, John Brookes. It has been ranked as the best new university by the Sunday Times University Guide 10 years in a row...
.
Morris Motors
The Cowley area was transformed after 1912 when William MorrisWilliam Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield
William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield GBE, CH , known as Sir William Morris, Bt, between 1929 and 1934 and as The Lord Nuffield between 1934 and 1938, was a British motor manufacturer and philanthropist...
bought the former Oxford Military College
Oxford Military College
Oxford Military College was an all-male private boarding school and military academy in Cowley, Oxford, England, from 1876–1896. The military college opened on 7 September 1876. Prince George, Duke of Cambridge was the patron of the Oxford Military College....
and moved the Morris Motor Company
Morris Motor Company
The Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...
into it from its former premises in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. 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
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
-style mass production
Mass production
Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
in the UK.
The Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
, which had taken over the Wycombe Railway
Wycombe Railway
The Wycombe Railway was a British railway between and that connected with the Great Western Railway at both ends; there was one branch, to .-History:The Wycombe Railway Company was incorporated by an act of Parliament passed in 1846...
, 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. This yard still exists and serves the current vehicle-manufacturing plant, though the railway beyond has long been lifted.
From the 1920s through to the 1960s, Cowley expanded into a huge industrial centre. In the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
many people left areas of high unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
such as South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
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
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
to rent to new workers. The houses looked nice but they were poorly built and maintained, until the tenants held a rent strike
Rent strike
A rent strike is a method of protest commonly employed against large landlords. In a rent strike, a group of tenants come together and agree to refuse to pay their rent en masse until a specific list of demands is met by the landlord...
and forced the landlord to make repairs. Most Florence Park houses are now owner-occupied, and the area's tree-lined roads are now a popular neighbourhood in which to live.
In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the Morris factory produced many de Havilland Tiger Moth
De Havilland Tiger Moth
The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952, when many of the surplus aircraft...
training aeroplanes for the war effort and there was also the No 1 Metal and Produce Recovery Depot run by the Civilian Repair Organisation to handle crashed or damaged aircraft and even the wreckage of enemy aircraft was processed here. Paul Nash
Paul Nash (artist)
Paul Nash was a British landscape painter, surrealist and war artist, as well as a book-illustrator, writer and designer of applied art. He was the older brother of the artist John Nash.-Early life:...
was inspired to paint Totes Meer based on sketches he made of the recovery depot.
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
British Motor Corporation
The British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
(BMC), in 1968 BMC became British Leyland, in the 1980s the group was known as Austin Rover, in the 1990s it was Rover Group
Rover Group
The Rover Group plc was the name given in 1986 to the British state-owned vehicle manufacturer previously known as British Leyland or BL. Owned by British Aerospace from 1988 to 1994, when it was sold to BMW, the Group was broken up in 2000 with the Rover and MG marques being acquired by the MG...
and since 2001 the factory has been owned by BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
. 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
Morris Motor Company
The Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...
and Pressed Steel Fisher plants. Unipart
Unipart
Unipart Group is a multinational logisitics, supply chain, and consultancy company headquartered in Cowley, United Kingdom. It has operations in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan and works across a variety of sectors that include automotive, rail, marine and leisure...
is also a major employer in Cowley, with premises next to the car factory. Also notable is the high level of political consciousness within the working class based in and around the Cowley area. Indeed, the workers are well known for not accepting wage cuts, union-busting
Union busting
Union busting is a wide range of activities undertaken by employers, their proxies, and governments, which attempt to prevent the formation or expansion of trade unions...
or anything else of the sort. Among the militants involved in trade unionism at Cowley are Alan Thornett
Alan Thornett
Alan Thornett is a British Trotskyist leader, and one of the officers of the left-wing Respect party.Alan Thornett began his career as a car worker in Cowley, Oxford in 1959. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain there in 1960 before being recruited with other shop stewards to Gerry...
.
In later years Morris Motors
Morris Motor Company
The Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...
and Pressed Steel became one company. Subsequently the Morris's site was closed down, demolished, and redeveloped as the Oxford Business Park
Oxford Business Park
The Oxford Business Park is a business park of at Cowley on the eastern edge of Oxford, England. The park is immediately adjacent to the Oxford Ring Road....
.
Cowley today
The car factoryFactory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
is known today as Plant Oxford
Plant Oxford
Plant Oxford located in Cowley, Oxford, is the central assembly facility for the MINI range of cars. The plant forms the Mini production triangle along with Plant Hams Hall where engines are manufactured and Plant Swindon where body pressings and sub-assemblies are built.-History:In 1912, William...
and is now owned by BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
and has been extensively redeveloped. It remains the largest industrial employer in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
employing more than 4,300 people. It was the original base of Morris cars when the marque was founded in 1912, and production continued at the factory until 1982, although the Morris marque was not abandoned until 1984 when production of the Longbridge-built
Longbridge plant
The Longbridge plant is an industrial complex situated in the Longbridge area of Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is currently owned by SAIC Group and is a manufacturing and research and development facility for its MG Motor subsidiary....
Morris Ital
Morris Ital
The Morris Ital was a medium-sized saloon car built by British Leyland from 1980 until 1984.-Design and launch:The Ital was first launched on 1 July 1980. It took its name from Giorgetto Giugiaro's ItalDesign studio, who had been employed by BL to manage the re-engineering of Morris Marina, a car...
finished. The factory then became the production facility for the Maestro
Austin Maestro
The Austin Maestro is a compact-sized 5-door hatchback car that was produced from 1983 to 1994, initially by the Austin Rover subsidiary of British Leyland , and from 1988 onwards by its successor, Rover Group. The car was produced at the former Morris plant in Cowley, Oxford. It was initially...
and Montego
Austin Montego
The Austin Montego is a British mid-size saloon car that was produced by the Austin Rover subsidiary of British Leyland , and its successors, from 1984 until 1994. The Montego was the replacement for the Morris Ital, to give British Leyland a modern competitor for the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall...
, which continued in production until 1994 by which time the facility was totally given over to production of the Rover 600
Rover 600
The Rover 600 Series is a compact executive car produced by the British car maker Rover from 1993 to 1999.The Rover 600 exterior was designed by Rover, a re-skin of the Tochigi-developed Honda Accord, also built in the UK by Honda in Swindon...
and Rover 800
Rover 800
The Rover 800 series is an executive car introduced by the Austin Rover Group in 1986 and also marketed as the Sterling in the United States. Co-developed with Honda, it was a close relative to the Honda Legend and the successor to the Rover SD1....
. These models were replaced by the Rover 75
Rover 75
The Rover 75 is an executive car produced initially by the Rover Group at Cowley, Oxfordshire, UK, and later by MG Rover at their Longbridge site in Birmingham, UK...
in late 1998, but BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
broke up the Rover Group
Rover Group
The Rover Group plc was the name given in 1986 to the British state-owned vehicle manufacturer previously known as British Leyland or BL. Owned by British Aerospace from 1988 to 1994, when it was sold to BMW, the Group was broken up in 2000 with the Rover and MG marques being acquired by the MG...
in 2000 and Rover 75 production moved to Longbridge, while BMW retained ownership of the Cowley plant to build the all-new MINI
Mini
The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
that was launched in the spring of 2001. It has been the best selling car to be built at the plant since the Maestro and Montego in the 1980s.
The business park has attracted a large David Lloyd fitness centre and offices of numerous companies including the European headquarters of Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...
Motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s and the headquarters of international aid charity Oxfam GB
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
.
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 racingGreyhound racing
Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
. In 1939 the equally new sport of motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
moved to Oxford Stadium. After a few years Oxford's speedway
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
team were named Oxford Cheetahs, a name they still bear today. In 2001, Oxford United FC moved from its former ground in Headington
Headington
Headington is a suburb of Oxford, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames Valley below. The life of the large residential area is centred upon London Road, the main road between London and Oxford.-History:...
to the new Kassam Stadium
Kassam Stadium
The Kassam Stadium is the home of Oxford United Football Club, and is named after the ground's owner, and former chairman of the club, Firoz Kassam....
at Minchery Farm, which is just outside Cowley.
Until 2009 on Watlington Road, opposite the MINI factory, stood Johnson's Café, which fed thousands of Morris Motors workers in the past. It was founded decades ago by Len Johnson and until its final day its interior was decorated with bold murals of early speedway
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
stars. Len's son Joe Johnson was an international motocross
Motocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
star in the 1960s until he settled down to take over the family café. The café remained in the family to the end under Len's grandson Bob Johnson. This cafe suffered an armed robbery on 16 January 2008 and closed in 2009. The building is now occupied by Oxford Spin & Fitness centre.
Temple Cowley Pools in Temple Road is a public swimming and gymnasium complex run by Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
City Council. Its main pool is 25 metres long. It is built on the site of part of a former Knights Templar estate. http://archive.oxfordmail.net/2006/5/26/96520.html Next door is Cowley Library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, and opposite is Oxfordshire Record Office
Oxfordshire Record Office
Oxfordshire History Centre is located in St Luke’s Church, Cowley, Oxford. It aims to collect, preserve and make available the records of the historic county of Oxfordshire. It holds original records and printed material from the 12th to 21st century, which are available for all to see free of...
, both run by Oxfordshire County Council
Oxfordshire County Council
Oxfordshire County Council, established in 1889, is the county council, or upper-tier local authority, for the non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire, in the South East of England, an elected body responsible for the most strategic local government services in the county.-History:County Councils...
. Morris Motors Athletic
Athletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
& Social Club in nearby Crescent Road has a large sports ground and club house.
In popular culture
On his 1992 tour of England (heard on the posthumously released Shock and AweShock and Awe (album)
Shock and Awe is a live recording posthumously released by stand-up comedian and satirist Bill Hicks in 2003, on New York based Invasion Records...
album), the comedian and satirist Bill Hicks
Bill Hicks
William Melvin "Bill" Hicks was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material largely consisted of general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy, and personal issues. Hicks' material was often controversial and steeped in dark comedy...
stated that he had found the 'Alabama of Britain' whilst attending a radio interview in Cowley.
External links
- Cowley Parish
- Map of Cowley, Oxford
- A tour of BMW's Plant Oxford
- Oxford Stadium (greyhound racing)
- Oxford Cheetahs (motorcycle speedway)
- Oxford United FC
- Temple Cowley Pools
- http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wps/portal/publicsite/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKL94039HcCSZnFO8WHOepHogtZIoR8PfJzU4ESkeZAAWNzX_2onNT0xORK_WB9b_0A_YLc0IjyfEdFAKdrMCU!/delta/base64xml/L0lJSk03dWlDU1lBIS9JTGpBQUV5QUJFUkVSRUlrLzRGR2dkWW5LSjBGUm9YZnJDRUEhLzdfTV8zN00vNzU2ODMzNg!!?WCM_PORTLET=PC_7_M_37M_WCM&WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=http://apps.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wps/wcm/connect/Internet/Council+services/Leisure+and+culture/Libraries/Your+local+library/LC+-+L+-+YLL+-+CowleyCowley Library]