Derelict military college on the outskirts of Oxford was the unlikely home of one of the century's most remarkable motoring success stories, writes David Duffy. In 1913 entrepreneur William Morris converted the college into a modest workshop to make cars.

The production site at Cowley would influence not only the development of the British motor industry, but also the growth and nature of the history of Oxford itself.

In a new book, authors Gillian Bardsley, archivist at the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust at Gaydon and trust curator Stephen Laing, have drawn on the superb collection of photographs preserved in the trust's archives to bring the car plant's history vividly to life. Starting with hand-building, it developed into mass production and the rise of the robots in the 1980s.

The 160-page softback volume covers not only the famous cars - the Bullnose, Morris Minor and Mini - but the more unusual products which came out of the plant, including Prescold Refrigerators and the iron lung which sprang from Morris's personal fascination with medicine.

And the factory's role during both the First and Second World Wars is also explored with a look at the many military vehicles, planes and munitions which were produced. Quite what William Morris would have made of the present Rover works is hard to tell. He would have been delighted with the quality and sheer excellence of the new Rover 75, but one suspects he would have found the ethos of using the plant to build an executive, and unequivocally exclusive car, much more difficult to handle.

Morris's vision was to produce a car of straightforward design, assembled from the best components all for a reasonable price.

His aim was to produce practical and above all affordable cars. It was a formula that found sales success around the world.

He widened the social scale of car ownership and helped change the face of modern transport. The success of the Morris products earned him a series of public honours, culminating in his elevation to the peerage as Lord Nuffield in 1938.

Many thousands of people have benefited directly and indirectly from the Cowley plant over the years. Works outings, pantomimes, social dinners, sports days and brass bands all played their part in the life of the plant. What is beyond question is that without it Oxford would be a different place.

*Car Making at Cowley From Morris to Rover, G. Bardsley and S. Laing, Sutton Publishing, £10.99.

Story date: Friday 17 December

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.