Cowley is a hamlet in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Upton Pyne Upton Pyne is a parish and village in Devon, England. The parish lies just north west of Exeter, mainly between the River Exe and River Creedy. The village is located north of Cowley and west of Brampford Speke and Stoke Canon. It has a populat ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England. Cowley church was built as a chapel of ease to

Brampford Speke Brampford Speke ( ) is a small village in Devon, to the north of Exeter. The population is 419. It is located on red sandstone cliffs overlooking the river Exe. Its sister village of Upton Pyne lies to its southwest, and Stoke Canon is across t ...

Rohde Hawkins Major Rohde Hawkins (born 4 February 1821 in Nutfield, Surrey; died 19 October 1884, Holmwood, Surrey) was an English architect of the Victorian period. He is known for the schools and churches that he built. ''Note: Both his given names "Ma ...

in 1867–8. It is chiefly notable for a fine three-arched bridge of classical design, built over the

River Creedy The River Creedy is a small river in Devon, England. It gives its name to the local town or ''ton'' of Crediton, which is on its west bank, and to several local historic estates, namely ''Creedy Hilion'', ''Creedy Peitevin'' (later called ''Creed ...

in 1813-14 by James Green, pupil of John Rennie and surveyor to the county of Devon. Although so recent in date, the bridge has been scheduled as an ancient monument. Cowley Bridge Junction is a railway junction on the former

Bristol and Exeter Railway The Bristol & Exeter Railway (B&ER) was an English railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was built on the broad gauge and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in stages between 1841 and 1844. It was allied with ...

, that allows access to the former

North Devon Railway The North Devon Railway was a railway company which operated a line from Cowley Bridge Junction, near Exeter, to Bideford in Devon, England, later becoming part of the London and South Western Railway's system. Originally planned as a broad gaug ...

towards

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

, now renamed the

Tarka Line The Tarka Line, also known as the North Devon Line, is a local railway line in Devon, England, linking the city of Exeter with the town of Barnstaple via a number of local villages, operated by Great Western Railway (GWR). The line opened in ...

. In 1848, the

Exeter and Crediton Railway The Exeter and Crediton Railway was a broad gauge railway that linked Exeter and Crediton, Devon, England. It was 5¼ miles (8½ km) long. Although built in 1847, it was not opened until 12 May 1851 due to disagreement about the gau ...

had built a station at Cowley Bridge, but it never opened.

References

Hamlets in Devon {{Devon-geo-stub