Cowley Road in east Oxford has changed gradually over the past 100 years, as our archive pictures show.
It has always been a vibrant community and the biggest change is the amount of traffic now using the route.
The area has a fascinating history as a documentary in 2010 revealed.
From a medieval leper colony, to a Victorian workhouse and the scene of some of Oxford’s most famous protest movements, the road has always reflected social change.
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The documentary film told the history of the road, traced through the bronze ingots installed along its length in 2005.
Bronze Eyes, by film maker Owen Edwards, told the story of Cowley Road’s development from 1126 to the present day.
Mr Edwards, 31, interviewed residents and local historians to tell the story, which is centred on the events and individuals celebrated on 58 bronze studs embedded in the road by Fusion Arts.
Along the way, he told the stories of the leper colony built three miles from Oxford in the 12th century, to sell wares to travellers entering and leaving the city, the development as a residential area in the 1840s and 1850s, the Victorian workhouse and Cowley Road’s churches.
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It also described how the 1960s brought a wave of change over East Oxford, turning it into a thriving hub of immigrant communities moving to Oxford for the first time.
Cowley Road has also been a starting point for many protests, from the suffragettes, to trade union demonstrations, to the anti-cuts march that started from Manzil Way.
Mr Edwards, from Cowley, said in 2010: “There has been nothing like this before, which is a shame because there is so much history to the Cowley Road.
“We have done some vox pops where people have said they have lived on the road for 36 years, but never knew about the place’s history. It’s about time people know about the place they live and work.”
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Local historian Annie Skinner, whose book Cowley Road: A History has provided the background for much of the film, added at the time: “East Oxford has always been the Cinderella of Oxford, but it is so rich in history.
“We’re in danger of losing our heritage and forgetting where places come from.”
The bronze ingots were installed as a 'time capsule' to reflect Cowley Road’s past.
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