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. Education Schools serving Cowley include Greyfriars Catholic School and Oxford Spires Academy. In popular culture Cowley is a principal setting in 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 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 the streets of Cowley". Young detective Endeavour Morse is based at Cowley Road police station in the Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour. Notable people The writer, Gladys Mitchell, born April 21, 1901. References Sources External links Cowley Parish Cowley Library Areas of Oxford