I’VE been interested to hear about the plans for Templars Square in Cowley.
I have been fascinated recently by the history of old Cowley, which is something of a hidden history.
The settlement of Middle Cowley or Hockmore Street once stood where Templars Square is now.
I was wondering if people might be in favour of having some kind of monument or reminder of this history in the redeveloped Templars Square.
I think a simple board with a street plan and pictures (of which there are many examples in the Oxfordshire Records Office) would provide a wonderful moment of interest and poignant reflection for people.
Perhaps there could even be a wall with a large picture showing an original size depiction of a view down the old Hockmore Street or some markings on part of the floor showing where a building once stood.
I appreciate of course that there are many demands upon a modern retail space.
However, it seems significant that a settlement stood on the site until the 1960s and is depicted with great poignancy and charm in photographs and drawings.
A community of people lived different lives to our own on this very spot.
There is then an element of heritage and nostalgia which might add to customers’ experiences, a sense of shared local identity and provide moments of reflection linked to the very specific location of Templars’ Square.
I wonder if the past can be creatively involved in the future of this wonderful place?
EDWARD WILLATT
Bailey Road, Cowley, Oxford
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