About Cowley

The parish of Cowley lies on the south-eastern edge of Oxford within the city boundary. The population is in excess of 25,000 - containing mostly pre-war private housing built when the car industry expanded in the 1920's and 1930's. There have been a number of new housing developments in recent years.

With the closure of more than half of the BMW car works, there has seen the creation of a large business park on one of the sites and a retail park on another

There is a high proportion of elderly people who moved to the Morris Car works in Cowley in the 1930's but young families are now moving in as properties become available. There are also significant Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities.

The Cowley District Shopping Centre (Templars' Square) forms the focus of the community and attracts shoppers from a very wide area.

There are three Church Controlled Primary Schools within the parish.

The Team Ministry serves two churches, St. James, Beauchamp Lane, and St. Francis of Assisi, Hollow Way once the daughter church.

Read the Parish Profile (PDF - compiled January 2012)