The Hermitage and Attached Lock Up is a Grade II listed building in the Cherwell local planning authority area, England. First listed on 31 January 1952. House. 2 related planning applications.

The Hermitage and Attached Lock Up

WRENN ID
tattered-banister-shade
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Cherwell
Constituency
Bicester and Woodstock MP: Calum Miller (LD)
Country
England
Date first listed
31 January 1952
Type
House
Address
The Hermitage and Attached Lock Up, 17 and 17a, London Road, Bicester, OX6 7BU
OS grid reference
SP 586 222
Coordinates
51.89566, -1.14867
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Hermitage and attached lock-up is a house that has been converted into two dwellings, dating from the late 17th century to early 18th century. It is constructed of coursed limestone rubble with some stucco dressings and features a plain-tile roof with brick stacks. The building has a three-unit plan that is subdivided and stands two storeys high plus attics. The front facade has five windows arranged regularly, featuring tall three-light casements, all with painted moulded architraves, and most retaining old casements. Doors have been inserted between the first and second bays and between the fourth and fifth bays. The roof includes five renewed dormers and three stacks. The rear of the building has tall casements, which were probably originally cross windows, and features a gabled stair projection. The interiors have not been inspected.

The former lock-up, likely built in the 18th to early 19th century, is made of limestone rubble and has a Welsh-slate roof. It has an apsidal plan built against the left gable wall of No. 17, with a ribbed door at the rear. The half-conical roof features a square apex louvre. Inside, there is a stone-vaulted ceiling with a barred shaft leading to the louvre. The lock-up is now used as an outbuilding in the garden of No. 15 (Gaol Cottage), which is not included in this listing.

Local climate

The Hermitage and Attached Lock Up sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 78% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 75% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 36 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 63% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 2 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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