Cowley, a Small Metropolitan Area Within Greater Oxford
Cowley is an industrial and residential area that has become a small metropolitan area within greater Oxford. Its neighbours are Central Oxford, Rose Hill, Blackbird Leys, New Headington and Garsington and Horspath. It is located south-east of the Oxford city centre and is bounded by Hollow Way on the east, Oxford Road on the south, by public recreational buildings to the west and by the residential houses on Crescent Road to the north.
The area has been settled since the Roman times. A Roman road passes north-south along the eastern boundary of Cowley. The path connects a Roman military camp at Alchester near Bicester to a Roman town in Dorchester-on-Thames. The Roman Way, a road that runs behind the Mini Car Factory and starts across the garage of the Stagecoach in Oxfordshire, follows a portion of the route.
After 1912 this small metropolitan area underwent a total transformation because of the arrival of the Morris Motors Limited. The car manufacturing company is owned by William Morris, who relocated his vehicle production from Oxford, its original location, to the Oxford Military College in this area. Here, he built a mass production line of Henry Ford style cars in the UK. After that, Morris Motors and Pressed Steel, another car body manufacturing plant, merged into one company.
The business park has attracted the David Lloyd Leisure Group as well as other local and international companies who established their headquarters in the business park such as the Harley-Davidson Motorcycles and Oxfam GB, a global organisation of NGOs.
Food, Shopping and Accommodation in Cowley
The Templars Square is a shopping centre located in Cowley. It opened in 1965 and up until 1989 was known as The Centre. It is considered the largest enclosed shopping centre in Oxford and has a considerable selection of High Street names including Wilkinson, WHSmith, Iceland, New Look and Boots to name a few. Also, there are a big number of independent retailers that offer all kinds of goods.
Things to See and Do in Cowley
The most interesting place in this metropolitan area is the Oxford Business park. The business park has attracted the David Lloyd Leisure Group as well as other local and international companies who established their headquarters in the business park such as the Harley-Davidson Motorcycles and Oxfam GB, a global organisation of NGOs.