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96-847: SSJE was founded in 1866 at Cowley, Oxford , England , by Richard Meux Benson , Charles Chapman Grafton , and Simeon Wilberforce O'Neill. Known colloquially as the Cowley Fathers , the society was the first stable religious community of men to be established in the Anglican Communion since the English Reformation . For many years the society had houses in England , Scotland , India , South Africa , Japan , and Canada . The society in England operated from Marston Street, Oxford from 1868 to 1980. The mother house of

192-619: A closer relation with the brothers of the Society of St John the Evangelist. They write and follow a rule of life similar to The Rule under which the brothers live. Members of the fellowship support the society through their friendship and prayers, and look to SSJE for support and inspiration. They commit to reading and learning from the SSJE Rule of Life regularly and visiting on retreat when possible. There are about 1,000 men and women in

288-483: A combined capacity of 1,695 seats. Hybrid buses began to be used in Oxford in 2010, and their usage has been expanded. In 2014 Oxford Bus introduced a fleet of 20 new buses with flywheel energy storage on the services it operates under contract for Oxford Brookes University . Most buses in the city now use a smartcard to pay for journeys and have free WiFi installed. The Oxford to London coach route offers

384-638: A frequent coach service to London. The Oxford Tube is operated by Stagecoach West and the Oxford Bus Company runs the Airline services to Heathrow and Gatwick airports. There is a bus station at Gloucester Green , used mainly by the London and airport buses, National Express coaches and other long-distance buses including route X5 to Milton Keynes and Bedford and Stagecoach Gold route S6. Among cities in England and Wales, Oxford has

480-531: 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

576-546: A mistake. In November 2022, Mogford announced that his hospitality group The Oxford Collection had joined up with Oxford Business Action Group (OBAG), Oxford High Street Association (OHSA), ROX (Backing Oxford Business), Reconnecting Oxford, Jericho Traders, and Summertown traders to launch a legal challenge to the new bus gates. The city is served by the M40 motorway , which connects London to Birmingham . The M40 approached Oxford in 1974, leading from London to Waterstock , where

672-494: A new company, Morrells of Oxford. The new owners sold most of the pubs on to Greene King in 2002. The Lion Brewery was converted into luxury apartments in 2002. Oxford's first legal distillery , the Oxford Artisan Distillery , was established in 2017 in historic farm buildings at the top of South Park . The Taylor family of Loughborough had a bell-foundry in Oxford between 1786 and 1854. This

768-474: A primary school until 1975. Its most famous pupil was William Morris, later Lord Nuffield , who founded Morris Motors which was the source of a great deal of local employment leading to substantial growth in the area. A public house is named after him located in the nearby Templar Square shopping centre. Another well-known pupil of the school was the actress Dame Maggie Smith . In 1866 the Society of St. John

864-412: A pristine Stradivarius violin, regarded by some as one of the finest examples in existence. The University Museum of Natural History holds the university's zoological , entomological and geological specimens. It is housed in a large neo-Gothic building on Parks Road , in the university's Science Area . Among its collection are the skeletons of a Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops , and

960-463: A third route, also to Paddington, running via Thame , High Wycombe and Maidenhead , was provided; this was shortened in 1906 by the opening of a direct route between High Wycombe and London Paddington by way of Denham . The distance from Oxford to London was 78 miles (125.5 km) via Bletchley; 63.5 miles (102.2 km) via Didcot and Reading; 63.25 miles (101.8 km) via Thame and Maidenhead; and 55.75 miles (89.7 km) via Denham. Only

1056-500: Is 2014, with an average of 11.8 °C (53 °F) and the coldest is 1879, with a mean temperature of 7.7 °C (46 °F). The sunniest month on record is May 2020, with 331.7 hours and December 1890 is the least sunny, with 5.0 hours. The greatest one-day rainfall occurred on 10 July 1968, with a total of 87.9 mm (3.46 in). The greatest known snow depth was 61.0 cm (24.0 in) in February 1888. The city centre

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1152-477: Is a small selection of the many notable buildings in Oxford. Oxford is a very green city, with several parks and nature walks within the ring road , as well as several sites just outside the ring road. In total, 28 nature reserves exist within or just outside the ring road, including: In addition to the larger airports in the region, Oxford is served by nearby Oxford Airport , in Kidlington . The airport

1248-706: Is also home to CAE Oxford Aviation Academy and Airways Aviation airline pilot flight training centres, and several private jet companies. The airport is also home to Airbus Helicopters UK headquarters. Direct trains run from Oxford station to London Paddington where there is an interchange with the Heathrow Express train links serving Heathrow Airport . Passengers can change at Reading for connecting trains to Gatwick Airport . Some CrossCountry trains run direct services to Birmingham International , as well as to Southampton Airport Parkway further afield. Bus services in Oxford and its suburbs are run by

1344-594: Is behind the Mini car factory, starting opposite the Stagecoach in Oxfordshire bus garage. Cowley coalesced from the former villages of Middle Cowley, Temple Cowley and Church Cowley (around St James church), though the ancient parish of Cowley covered much of the area now known as East Oxford . The western portion of the original parish of Cowley was split off and became part of the city of Oxford in 1889, and

1440-466: Is just outside the city, at the park and ride site near Kidlington . The present railway station opened in 1852. Oxford is the junction for a short branch line to Bicester , a remnant of the former Varsity line to Cambridge . This Oxford–Bicester line was upgraded to 100 mph (161 km/h) running during an 18-month closure in 2014/2015 – and is scheduled to be extended to form the planned East West Rail line to Milton Keynes. East West Rail

1536-843: Is located at the confluence of the rivers Thames (locally known as the Isis ) and Cherwell . It had a population of 163,257 in 2022. It is 56 miles (90 km) north-west of London , 64 miles (103 km) south-east of Birmingham and 61 miles (98 km) north-east of Bristol . The city is home to the University of Oxford , the oldest university in the English-speaking world ; it has buildings in every style of English architecture since late Anglo-Saxon . Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing, science, and information technologies. The history of Oxford in England dates back to its original settlement in

1632-553: Is now strongly discouraged, and largely prevented, from using the city centre. The Oxford Ring Road or A4142 (southern part) surrounds the city centre and close suburbs Marston , Iffley , Cowley and Headington ; it consists of the A34 to the west, a 330-yard section of the A44 , the A40 north and north-east, A4142/ A423 to the east. It is a dual carriageway , except for a 330-yard section of

1728-508: Is proposed to continue through Bletchley (for Milton Keynes Central ) to Bedford , Cambridge, and ultimately Ipswich and Norwich , thus providing alternative route to East Anglia without needing to travel via, and connect between, the London mainline terminals. Chiltern Railways operates from Oxford to London Marylebone via Bicester Village , having sponsored the building of about 400 metres of new track between Bicester Village and

1824-519: Is relatively small and is centred on Carfax , a crossroads which forms the junction of Cornmarket Street (pedestrianised), Queen Street (mainly pedestrianised ), St Aldate's and the High Street ("the High"; blocked for through traffic). Cornmarket Street and Queen Street are home to Oxford's chain stores, as well as a small number of independent retailers, one of the longest established of which

1920-1093: The Castle Mill Stream . The rapid expansion of Oxford and the development of its railway links after the 1840s facilitated expansion of the brewing trade. As well as expanding the market for Oxford's brewers, railways enabled brewers further from the city to compete for a share of its market. By 1874 there were nine breweries in Oxford and 13 brewers' agents in Oxford shipping beer in from elsewhere. The nine breweries were: Flowers & Co in Cowley Road , Hall's St Giles Brewery, Hall's Swan Brewery (see below), Hanley's City Brewery in Queen Street , Le Mills's Brewery in St. Ebbes , Morrell's Lion Brewery in St Thomas Street (see below), Simonds's Brewery in Queen Street, Weaving's Eagle Brewery (by 1869

2016-557: The Chiltern Main Line southwards in 2014. The route serves High Wycombe and London Marylebone, avoiding London Paddington and Didcot Parkway . In 1844, the Great Western Railway linked Oxford with London Paddington via Didcot and Reading ; in 1851, the London & North Western Railway opened its own route from Oxford to London Euston , via Bicester , Bletchley and Watford ; and in 1864

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2112-552: The Maestro and Montego in the 1980s. The Morris Motors factory expanded with factory complexes on both sides of the Oxford Road. Although Morris started his original work on the outskirts of the city the Cowley site quickly became the production site for high volume production. It was the original base of Morris cars when the marque was founded in 1912, and production continued at the factory until 1982, with models including

2208-484: The Mini factory, stood Johnson's Café, which fed thousands of Morris Motors workers in the past. It was founded decades ago by Reginald Johnson and until its final day its interior was decorated with bold murals of early speedway stars. Reginald's sons Aubrey and Len took over after the Second World War . Len's son Joe Johnson was an international motocross star in the 1960s until he settled down to run

2304-675: The Morris Minor , Morris Oxford , Riley Motor and Wolseley Motors cars. The Morris marque was not abandoned until 1984 when production of the Longbridge-built Morris Ital and development of the Morris Marina finished. The factory then became the production facility for the Maestro , Montego and the Princess Range. Production continued with the facility totally given over to production of

2400-493: The Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach West as well as other operators including Arriva Shires & Essex and Thames Travel . Oxford has one of the largest urban park and ride networks in the United Kingdom. Its five sites, at Pear Tree, Redbridge , Seacourt , Thornhill, Water Eaton and Oxford Parkway have a combined capacity of 4,930 car parking spaces, served by 20 Oxford Bus Company double decker buses with

2496-553: 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. Cowley St James C of E school, situated on Beauchamp Lane adjacent to the church, was established in 1834 and continued to operate as

2592-461: The Oxford Star (tabloid; free and delivered), and Oxford Journal (tabloid; weekly free pick-up). Oxford is also home to several advertising agencies . Daily Information (known locally as "Daily Info") is an event information and advertising news sheet which has been published since 1964 and now provides a connected website. Nightshift is a monthly local free magazine that has covered

2688-509: 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 . The original Morris Motor sites were flattened and a technology park has since been created on the site. The former Nuffield Press site including the former Oxford Military College buildings was redeveloped in

2784-632: The Rover Group they decide to retain the Pressed Steel Fisher site and transfer the Mini from Longbridge to Cowley, enabling the Longbridge site to continue to produce all the Rover products. BMW retained ownership of the Cowley plant, formerly Pressed Steel, 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

2880-818: The Saxon period . Originally of strategic significance due to its controlling location on the upper reaches of the River Thames at its confluence with the River Cherwell , the town grew in national importance during the early Norman period , and in the late 12th century became home to the fledgling University of Oxford . The city was besieged during The Anarchy in 1142. During the Middle Ages Oxford had an important Jewish community, of which David of Oxford and his wife Licoricia of Winchester were prominent members. The university rose to dominate

2976-529: The Westgate Oxford . The Westgate Centre is named for the original West Gate in the city wall, and is at the west end of Queen Street . A major redevelopment and expansion to 750,000 sq ft (70,000 m ), with a new 230,000 sq ft (21,000 m ) John Lewis department store and a number of new homes, was completed in October 2017. Blackwell's Bookshop is a bookshop which claims

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3072-430: 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

3168-815: The 1970s and 1980s, leaving behind a city which had developed far beyond the university town of the past. Oxford's latitude and longitude are 51°45′07″N 1°15′28″W  /  51.75194°N 1.25778°W  / 51.75194; -1.25778 , with Ordnance Survey grid reference SP513061 (at Carfax Tower , which is usually considered the centre). Oxford is 24 miles (39 km) north-west of Reading , 26 miles (42 km) north-east of Swindon , 36 miles (58 km) east of Cheltenham , 43 miles (69 km) east of Gloucester , 29 miles (47 km) south-west of Milton Keynes , 38 miles (61 km) south-east of Evesham , 43 miles (69 km) south of Rugby and 51 miles (82 km) west-north-west of London . The rivers Cherwell and Thames (also sometimes known as

3264-432: 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

3360-597: The A40 continued to Oxford. When the M40 extension to Birmingham was completed in January 1991, it curved sharply north, and a mile of the old motorway became a spur. The M40 comes no closer than 6 miles (10 km) away from the city centre, curving to pass to the east of Otmoor . The M40 meets the A34 to the north of Oxford. There are two universities in Oxford, the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University , as well as

3456-421: The A40 where two residential service roads adjoin, and was completed in 1966. The main roads to/from Oxford are: On 28 February 2022 a zero-emission pilot area became operational in Oxford city centre. Zero-emission vehicles can be used without incurring a charge but all petrol and diesel vehicles (including hybrids) incur a daily charge if they are driven in the zone between 7am and 7pm. A consultation on

3552-724: The Eagle Steam Brewery) in Park End Street and Wootten and Cole's St. Clement's Brewery. The Swan's Nest Brewery, later the Swan Brewery, was established by the early 18th century in Paradise Street , and in 1795 was acquired by William Hall. The brewery became known as Hall's Oxford Brewery, which acquired other local breweries. Hall's Brewery was acquired by Samuel Allsopp & Sons in 1926, after which it ceased brewing in Oxford. Morrell's

3648-751: The Evangelist , a Church of England religious order , was founded near Cowley Road in the parish of Cowley. SSJE was the first long-lasting Anglican religious order for men 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

3744-555: The Isis locally, supposedly from the Latinised name Thamesis ) run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre. These rivers and their flood plains constrain the size of the city centre. Oxford has a maritime temperate climate ( Köppen : Cfb ). Precipitation is uniformly distributed throughout the year and is provided mostly by weather systems that arrive from the Atlantic . The lowest temperature ever recorded in Oxford

3840-514: The Oxford music scene since 1991. Oxford is home to many museums , galleries , and collections, most of which are free of admission charges and are major tourist attractions . The majority are departments of the University of Oxford . The first of these to be established was the Ashmolean Museum , the world's first university museum , and the oldest museum in the UK. Its first building

3936-460: The Society occupied a large area of land bordered by Cowley Road on one side, and Iffley Road on the other. The site incorporated three chapels, a mission church, a song school, a community school, accommodation for the Brothers, and guest quarters. When the Society withdrew from Marston Street in 1980, the buildings were transferred to St Stephen's House theological college. A small SSJE monastery

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4032-809: The United Kingdom, after the British Library . The Bodleian Library is a legal deposit library, which means that it is entitled to request a free copy of every book published in the United Kingdom. As such, its collection is growing at a rate of over three miles (five kilometres) of shelving every year. As well as the BBC national radio stations , Oxford and the surrounding area has several local stations, including BBC Radio Oxford , Heart South , Destiny 105 , Greatest Hits Radio and Hits Radio Oxfordshire , along with Oxide: Oxford Student Radio (which went on terrestrial radio at 87.7 MHz FM in late May 2005). A local TV station , Six TV : The Oxford Channel,

4128-410: The air filtration systems. The site now belongs to Oxford Brookes University who built student accommodation on the site, and now use the former bunker as a storage facility making it the only student halls in the country with its own nuclear shelter. In 1921 the civil parish had a population of 2790. On 1 April 1929 the parish was abolished and merged with St Giles and St John . The Cowley area

4224-528: The area is often used by film and TV crews. Aside from the city centre, there are several suburbs and neighbourhoods within the borders of the city of Oxford, including: Oxford is at the centre of the Oxford Green Belt , which is an environmental and planning policy that regulates the rural space in Oxfordshire surrounding the city, aiming to prevent urban sprawl and minimize convergence with nearby settlements. The policy has been blamed for

4320-415: The cafe alongside Aubrey and his son, Andrew, after Len's death. After Aubrey's death in the 1980s the cafe was run by Andrew and Joey to the end. This cafe suffered an armed robbery on 16 January 2008 and closed in 2009. The building is now occupied by Oxford Spin & Fitness centre. Schools serving Cowley include Greyfriars Catholic School and Oxford Spires Academy . Cowley is a principal setting in

4416-535: The car factory. 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. The car factory 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. The plant

4512-795: The city of Oxford was a county borough , independent from the county council. Oxford City Council meets at the Town Hall on the street called St Aldate's in the city centre. The current building was completed in 1897, on a site which had been occupied by Oxford's guildhall since the 13th century. Most of Oxford is an unparished area , but there are four civil parishes within the city's boundaries: Blackbird Leys , Littlemore , Old Marston , and Risinghurst and Sandhills . Oxford's economy includes manufacturing, publishing and science-based industries as well as education, sports, entertainment, breweries, research and tourism. Oxford has been an important centre of motor manufacturing since Morris Motors

4608-483: The fellowship. Cowley, Oxford Cowley ( / ˈ k aʊ l ɪ / ) is a residential and industrial area in Oxford , in the county of Oxfordshire , England. Cowley's neighbours are Rose Hill and Blackbird Leys to the south, Headington to the north and the villages of Horspath and Garsington across fields to the east. Internationally, Cowley is best known for its automotive industry - historically it

4704-710: The homeless, and persons affected by HIV and AIDS . One of the brothers, M. Thomas Shaw , SSJE, served as the 15th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts . The current superior, Br. James Koester SSJE, was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. He received his M.Div. from Trinity College, Toronto. He was ordained in Anglican Church of Canada in Diocese of British Columbia in 1985. He served in parish ministry for five years before coming to SSJE and

4800-400: The introduction of a wider zero-emission zone is expected in the future, at a date to be confirmed. Oxford has eight bus gates, short sections of road where only buses and other authorised vehicles can pass. Six further bus gates are currently proposed. A council-led consultation on the traffic filters ended on 13 October 2022. On 29 November 2022, Oxfordshire County Council cabinet approved

4896-494: The introduction on a trial basis, for a minimum period of six months. The trial will begin after improvement works to Oxford railway station are complete, which is expected to be by October 2024. The additional bus gates have been controversial; Oxford University and Oxford Bus Company support the proposals but more than 3,700 people have signed an online petition opposing the new traffic filters for Marston Ferry Road and Hollow Way, and hotelier Jeremy Mogford has argued they would be

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4992-493: The large rise in house prices in Oxford, making it the least affordable city in the United Kingdom outside of London, with estate agents calling for brownfield land inside the green belt to be released for new housing. The vast majority of the area covered is outside of the city, but there are some green spaces within that which are covered by the designation, such as much of the Thames and river Cherwell flood-meadows , and

5088-634: The larger Cowley parishes, there are still some modern contexts (such as the Cowley Fathers mentioned below) when the term "Cowley" is used to refer to other areas in East Oxford outside of Cowley proper. Cowley was a manor from Medieval 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

5184-548: The largest single room devoted to book sales in the whole of Europe, the Norrington Room (10,000 sq ft). There is a long history of brewing in Oxford. Several of the colleges had private breweries, one of which, at Brasenose , survived until 1889. In the 16th century brewing and malting appear to have been the most popular trades in the city. There were breweries in Brewer Street and Paradise Street , near

5280-487: The late 1990s into housing. The business park has attracted a large David Lloyd Leisure centre and offices of numerous companies including the European headquarters of Harley-Davidson Motorcycles and the headquarters of international aid charity Oxfam GB . Cowley is an ethnically diverse community, with significant black and South Asian communities. Cowley has a strong sporting tradition. In 1938 Oxford Stadium

5376-469: The meadow. The community's chief ministries are preaching, spiritual direction , and hospitality. For some years they have been affiliated with St. George's College, Jerusalem , serving as chaplains on a number of pilgrimages to the Holy Land each year. They have also conducted mission trips to Africa. Individual brothers work in various local and regional ministries with students, prisoners, soldiers,

5472-678: The most complete remains of a dodo found anywhere in the world. It also hosts the Simonyi Professorship of the Public Understanding of Science , currently held by Marcus du Sautoy . Adjoining the Museum of Natural History is the Pitt Rivers Museum , founded in 1884, which displays the university's archaeological and anthropological collections, currently holding over 500,000 items. It recently built

5568-417: The novel The Alteration by Kingsley Amis , set in an alternative reality where the Protestant Reformation never occurred. Cowley was the site of the Holy Victory in the War of English Succession (where 'Henry the Abominable' attempted to seize the throne from his nephew Stephen II, resulting in a papal crusade). As a result, it was renamed Coverley and made the ecclesiastical capital of England, surpassing

5664-416: The original ( Didcot ) route is still in use for its full length, portions of the others remain. There were also routes to the north and west. The line to Banbury was opened in 1850, and was extended to Birmingham Snow Hill in 1852; a route to Worcester opened in 1853. A branch to Witney was opened in 1862, which was extended to Fairford in 1873. The line to Witney and Fairford closed in 1962, but

5760-454: The others remain open. Oxford was historically an important port on the River Thames , with this section of the river being called the Isis ; the Oxford-Burcot Commission in the 17th century attempted to improve navigation to Oxford. Iffley Lock and Osney Lock lie within the bounds of the city. In the 18th century the Oxford Canal was built to connect Oxford with the Midlands . Commercial traffic has given way to recreational use of

5856-399: The pool of Oxford University students and graduates, and, especially for EFL education , use their Oxford location as a selling point. Oxford has numerous major tourist attractions, many belonging to the university and colleges. As well as several famous institutions, the town centre is home to Carfax Tower and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, both of which offer views over

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5952-441: The property was sold. Following the closure of St Edward's House in 2012, the Society no longer maintains a monastery in the British Isles. The British congregation had three professed Brothers in 2012, all of whom continued to live as solitaries . The society administers The Fellowship of St John (UK) Trust Association, a registered charity, which gives grants to UK and foreign agencies for education and missionary work. In 1870

6048-457: The river and canal. Oxford was the original base of Salters Steamers (founded in 1858), which was a leading racing-boatbuilder that played an important role in popularising pleasure boating on the Upper Thames. The firm runs a regular service from Folly Bridge downstream to Abingdon and beyond. Oxford's central location on several transport routes means that it has long been a crossroads city with many coaching inns , although road traffic

6144-402: 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 building at Cowley Barracks on James Wolfe Road, Cowley. The UKWMO

6240-458: The second highest percentage of people cycling to work. Oxford railway station is half a mile (about 1 km) west of the city centre. The station is served by CrossCountry services to Bournemouth and Manchester Piccadilly ; Great Western Railway (who manage the station) services to London Paddington , Banbury and Hereford ; and Chiltern Railways services to London Marylebone . Oxford has had three main railway stations. The first

6336-425: The secular capital of London in terms of importance. On his 1992 tour of England (heard on the posthumously released Shock and Awe album), the comedian and satirist Bill Hicks stated that he had found the "Alabama of Britain" whilst attending a radio interview in Cowley. Cowley is referenced in the lyrics of the song "Zorbing" by the British alternative indie folk band Stornoway : "Been Zorbing through

6432-461: The society came to Boston , Massachusetts , where it became part of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America . The members of the North American congregation live in a monastery designed by Ralph Adams Cram in Cambridge , near Harvard Square . The guest house was built in memory of Isabella Stewart Gardner . The society has a rural retreat centre, Emery House, in West Newbury , where guests can stay in small hermitages in

6528-509: The specialist further and higher education institution Ruskin College that is part of the University of West London in Oxford. The Islamic Azad University also has a campus near Oxford. The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and one of the most prestigious higher education institutions of the world, averaging nine applications to every available place, and attracting 40% of its academic staff and 17% of undergraduates from overseas. In September 2016, it

6624-411: The spires of the city. Many tourists shop at the historic Covered Market . In the summer, punting on the Thames / Isis and the Cherwell is a common practice. As well as being a major draw for tourists (9.1 million in 2008, similar in 2009) , Oxford city centre has many shops, several theatres and an ice rink. There are two small shopping malls in the city centre: the Clarendon Centre and

6720-410: The streets of Cowley". Young detective Endeavour Morse is based at Cowley Road police station in the Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour . Oxford Oxford ( / ˈ ɒ k s f ər d / ) is a cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire , England, of which it is the county town. Founded in the 8th century, it was granted city status in 1542. The city

6816-410: The successful Allen Scythe powered by a small Villiers petrol engine. The works closed in the early 1980s, and the Templars Shopping Park formerly known as 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

6912-601: 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

7008-590: The town. A heavily ecclesiastical town, Oxford was greatly affected by the changes of the English Reformation , emerging as the seat of a bishopric and a full-fledged city. During the English Civil War , Oxford housed the court of Charles I and stood at the heart of national affairs. The city began to grow industrially during the 19th century, and had an industrial boom in the early 20th century, with major printing and car-manufacturing industries. These declined, along with other British heavy industry, in

7104-591: The village of Binsey , along with several smaller portions on the fringes. Other landscape features and places of interest covered include Cutteslowe Park and the mini railway attraction, the University Parks , Hogacre Common Eco Park, numerous sports grounds, Aston's Eyot , St Margaret 's Church and well, and Wolvercote Common and community orchard. There are two tiers of local government covering Oxford, at district and county level: Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council . From 1889 to 1974

7200-478: 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

7296-426: Was Boswell's , founded in 1738. The store closed in 2020. St Aldate's has few shops but several local government buildings, including the town hall , the city police station and local council offices. The High (the word street is traditionally omitted) is the longest of the four streets and has a number of independent and high-end chain stores, but mostly university and college buildings. The historic buildings mean

7392-412: Was 1788, with 336.7 mm (13.26 in) of rainfall. The wettest year was 2012, with 979.5 mm (38.56 in). The wettest month on record was September 1774, with a total fall of 223.9 mm (8.81 in). The warmest month on record is July 1983, with an average of 21.1 °C (70 °F) and the coldest is January 1963, with an average of −3.0 °C (27 °F). The warmest year on record

7488-607: Was also available but closed in April 2009; a service operated by That's TV , originally called That's Oxford (now That's Oxfordshire), took to the airwaves in 2015. The city is home to a BBC Television newsroom which produces an opt-out from the main South Today programme broadcast from Southampton . Local papers include The Oxford Times (compact; weekly), its sister papers the Oxford Mail ( tabloid ; daily) and

7584-487: Was built on the site of part of a former Knights Templar estate. [1] Opposite the site of the former pool is the band hall of the City of Oxford Silver Band and next door to it stands Cowley Library,. Oxfordshire Record Office occupies the former St Luke 's church nearby. Morris Motors Athletic & Social Club in nearby Crescent Road has a large sports ground and club house. Until 2009 on Watlington Road, opposite

7680-528: Was built to host the sport of greyhound racing . In 1939 motorcycle speedway moved to Oxford Stadium. After a few years Oxford's speedway team were named Oxford Cheetahs, a name they still bear today. Temple Cowley Pools in Temple Road was a public swimming and gymnasium complex run by Oxford City Council which closed in December 2014 for redevelopment as housing. Its main pool was 25 metres long. It

7776-465: 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 Templas Square shopping center (previously it had been known as "Cowley Centre", and sometimes still is). In

7872-678: Was erected in 1678–1683 to house a cabinet of curiosities given to the University of Oxford in 1677. The museum reopened in 2009 after a major redevelopment. It holds significant collections of art and archaeology, including works by Michelangelo , Leonardo da Vinci , Turner , and Picasso , as well as treasures such as the Scorpion Macehead , the Parian Marble and the Alfred Jewel . It also contains " The Messiah ",

7968-529: Was established in 1990, and the Begbroke Science Park , owned by the university, lies north of the city. Oxford increasingly has a reputation for being a centre of digital innovation, as epitomized by Digital Oxford. Several startups including Passle, Brainomix, Labstep, and more, are based in Oxford. The presence of the university has also led to Oxford becoming a centre for the education industry. Companies often draw their teaching staff from

8064-474: Was established in the city in 1910. The principal production site for Mini cars, owned by BMW since 2000, is in the Oxford suburb of Cowley . The plant, which survived the turbulent years of British Leyland in the 1970s and was threatened with closure in the early 1990s, also produced cars under the Austin and Rover brands following the demise of the Morris brand in 1984, although the last Morris-badged car

8160-592: Was founded in 1743 by Richard Tawney. He formed a partnership in 1782 with Mark and James Morrell, who eventually became the owners. After an acrimonious family dispute the brewery was closed in 1998. The beer brand names were taken over by the Thomas Hardy Burtonwood brewery, while the 132 tied pubs were bought by Michael Cannon, owner of the American hamburger chain Fuddruckers , through

8256-418: Was given the name of Cowley St John, though today it is often called the Cowley Road area, after the road across the fields from Oxford to Cowley villages. The term Cowley today usually refers to the remainder of Cowley (the parish of Cowley St James where the original Cowley villages stood), which became part of the city of Oxford in 1928. However, because the settlements of Cowley were situated within

8352-565: Was opened at Grandpont in 1844, but this was a terminus, inconvenient for routes to the north; it was replaced by the present station on Park End Street in 1852 with the opening of the Birmingham route. Another terminus, at Rewley Road , was opened in 1851 to serve the Bletchley route; this station closed in 1951. There have also been a number of local railway stations, all of which are now closed. A fourth station, Oxford Parkway ,

8448-610: Was opened further along the Iffley Road, where it operated for several years. In 1905 the Society opened St Edward's House in Westminster , London , where it provided retreats and other ministries until 2012. Oxford University professor C. S. Lewis visited Father Walter Adams, making confession to Father Adams as a spiritual discipline from 1940 until Father Adams died on March 3, 1952. Lewis gave much credit to Father Adams for his ministry. St. Edward's House closed in 2012 and

8544-581: Was produced there in 1982. Oxford University Press , a department of the University of Oxford , is based in the city, although it no longer operates its own paper mill and printing house. The city is also home to the UK operations of Wiley-Blackwell , Elsevier and several smaller publishing houses. The presence of the university has given rise to many science and technology based businesses, including Oxford Instruments , Research Machines and Sophos . The university established Isis Innovation in 1987 to promote technology transfer. The Oxford Science Park

8640-609: Was professed as a Brother in 1992. Br. James served in a variety of roles including Deputy Superior and Brother in Charge of Emery House. During his time there Grafton House was opened for monastic interns, men and women. Cowley Publications was run by the society until 2007, when it was sold to Rowman & Littlefield . The Fellowship of Saint John in the United States is a group of individuals (including men and women as well as both lay and ordained members) who wish to live in

8736-586: Was ranked as the world's number one university, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings . Oxford is renowned for its tutorial -based method of teaching. The University of Oxford maintains the largest university library system in the United Kingdom, and, with over 11 million volumes housed on 120 miles (190 km) of shelving, the Bodleian group is the second-largest library in

8832-642: Was set up in 1926 by a consortium including William Morris and the Budd Company of America and was adjacent to the Morris Motors factory. Morris and the Budd Company both pulled out of the consortium and the plant became an independent supplier of bodies and tooling to Morris and other car manufacturers across the world. The company also produced the Prestcold refrigerators. When BMW sold

8928-447: Was the home of the car manufacturer Morris (later absorbed into British Leyland , then the Rover Group ), which has now evolved into Mini . The Cowley area has been inhabited since Roman 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

9024-538: Was the organisation responsible for initiating the 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. Parts of the bunker were demolished in 1995, however most of it was refurbished including

9120-459: Was transformed after 1912 when William Morris bought the former Oxford Military College and moved Morris Motors Limited 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

9216-617: Was −17.8 °C (0.0 °F) on 24 December 1860. The highest temperature ever recorded in Oxford is 38.1 °C (101 °F) on 19 July 2022. The average conditions below are from the Radcliffe Meteorological Station . It has the longest series of temperature and rainfall records for one site in Britain . These records are continuous from January 1815. Irregular observations of rainfall, cloud cover, and temperature exist since 1767. The driest year on record

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