Cowley () is a residential and industrial area in Oxford, 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 was the home of the car manufacturer Morris (later absorbed into British Leyland, then the Rover Group), which has now evolved into Mini. History 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 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 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 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 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