Cowley is a hamlet in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Upton Pyne in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. Cowley church was built as a chapel of ease to Brampford Speke by Rohde Hawkins in 1867–8. It is chiefly notable for a fine three-arched bridge of classical design, built over the River Creedy 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 and 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 wi ...

, that allows access to the former North Devon Railway towards

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

, 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 18 ...

. In 1848, the Exeter and Crediton Railway had built a station at Cowley Bridge, but it never opened.

References

Hamlets in Devon {{Devon-geo-stub