Name: The Car-Makers of Cowley
Start: 2025-11-14T14:30:00+00:00
End: 2025-11-14T16:00:00+00:00
Location: Museum of Oxford

A seminar exploring research into the history of Oxford's car-making industry, from the nineteenth century to today.
About this Event

This seminar is one of a new six-part event series taking place this autumn, hosted by Oxford University's Community History Hub. The events will showcase a range of innovative local historical projects run by, or in partnership with, community historians. Learn about the latest new research being conducted on Oxfordshire's diverse histories, as well as gaining new skills that could help you shape your own project ideas.

On 14 November, come and hear a talk by Maurice East (local historian) and Prof Rob Iliffe (University of Oxford) about 'The Car-Makers of Cowley' project. This project is a new joint community-university initiative to document, preserve and share the multi-faceted history of the local car-making industry, centring around the former Morris car plant in Cowley - which is today the home of 'MINI'.

Hear about the heady rise of the original Morris and Pressed Steel factories in the early twentieth century; the bumpy ride of militant industrial action in Cowley during the British Leyland era of the 1960s-80s; as well as how the car industry transformed the face of Oxford, through new housing developments, migration and a whole load of new cars!

We also invite you to share your stories and contributions to the project, which we hope to feature on a new digital archive that the project team will be building over the next year. This new website will be free and open to the public, and you will have the opportunity to hear more and share your thoughts on the plans at this event. We particularly welcome attendees with a personal/family connection to the local car plant, but all with an interest in this history are warmly invited to come along too.

The event is free and everyone is welcome, but please note that the number of spaces available is limited, so do book in advance. If you have any questions about the event, you are welcome to contact Dr Priya Atwal (Community History Fellow) via email at [email protected].