Cowley Road, Oxford
Cowley Road is an arterial road in the city of Oxford, England, running southeast from near the city centre at The Plain near Magdalen Bridge, through the inner city area of East Oxford, and to the industrial suburb of Cowley.[2] The central shopping is at 51°44′46″N 1°13′55″W / 51.746°N 1.232°W
Cowley Road is also the main shopping street of east Oxford, and in the evenings it is the area's main leisure district.
Cowley Road has an ethnically and economically diverse population. This includes significant, long-standing South-Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities, who have been joined more recently by East European, Chinese and African arrivals. Alongside these ethnic groups, East Oxford plays host to many members of the city's academic population, both undergraduate and academic staff, and is home to many politically active groups.
Cowley Road has high levels of both road traffic and pedestrian traffic, and space for both is limited. In 2005, Oxfordshire County Council invested about £1,000,000 from central government to re-model the busiest part of Cowley Road. The carriageway has been realigned and colourfully resurfaced, the pavements have been repaved, cycle lanes have been enhanced in some places and removed from others and in one section the speed limit has been reduced to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h).
Music and culture
The Cowley Road area has played a prominent part in the Oxford music scene. A number of successful bands made their formative performances in local venues such as the O2 Academy Oxford (formerly known as The Zodiac), and The Art Bar (formerly the Bullingdon Arms). Famous Oxford bands have included Supergrass, Radiohead and Ride.
Cowley Road is also home to the Cowley Road Carnival, an annual event during which the road is pedestrianised, and which features live music, static sound systems, a parade, and food from around the world.[3] The Cowley Road Carnival typically attracts some 20,000 visitors, and has become an integral part of contemporary Oxford.
Gallery
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Historic Cotswold stone houses in Cowley Road -
![Church of England parish church of St Mary and St John on Cowley Road.[4]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Church_of_St._Mary_and_St._John_-_geograph.org.uk_-_113975.jpg/120px-Church_of_St._Mary_and_St._John_-_geograph.org.uk_-_113975.jpg)
Church of England parish church of St Mary and St John on Cowley Road.[4] -
The Hobgoblin public house in Cowley Road on the corner of Bullingdon Road (since renamed 'The Cowley Retreat').
![Church of England parish church of St Mary and St John on Cowley Road.[4]](/wiki/File:Church_of_St._Mary_and_St._John_-_geograph.org.uk_-_113975.jpg)
See also
- Oxford Printmakers, off Cowley Road
- Ultimate Picture Palace, off Cowley Road
References
- ^ Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, pp. 341–342.
- ^ Hibbert, Christopher, ed. (1988). "Cowley Road". The Encyclopaedia of Oxford. London: Macmillan. p. 112. ISBN 0-333-39917-X.
- ^ "Cowley Road Carnival". Oxford. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- ^ Archbishops' Council (2010). "Parish Church of Ss Mary and John, Oxford". A Church Near You. Church of England. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
Sources and further reading
- Attlee, James (2007). Isolarion: A Different Oxford Journey. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-03093-7.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0 14 071045 0.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Skinner, Annie (2005). Cowley Road: A History. Signal Books. ISBN 1-904955-10-X.
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