The Old Rectory is a Grade II listed building in the Cherwell local planning authority area, England. First listed on 26 November 1951. House. 1 related planning application.
The Old Rectory
- WRENN ID
- eternal-truss-flax
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Cherwell
- Constituency
- Bicester and Woodstock MP: Calum Miller (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 26 November 1951
- Type
- House
- Address
- The Old Rectory, Bicester Road, Launton, OX26 5DP
- OS grid reference
- SP 604 227
- Coordinates
- 51.90038, -1.12285
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Old Rectory is a wing of a rectory that has been converted into a house. It was built in 1828 by builder John Plowman for Reverend James Blomfield, although part of the structure may be slightly older. The building is constructed from coursed squared limestone with some ashlar dressings and features a Welsh-slate roof with brick stacks. It has a double-depth plan and stands two storeys tall.
The right bay of the four-window front is the earlier section and includes large tripartite sash windows on both floors. The other bays feature 12-pane sashes along with the entrance, which has a four-panel door, a rectangular overlight, and an inscription that reads "Pax Intrantibus Salus Exeuntibus" on the lintel of its pilastered ashlar doorcase. All windows are topped with ashlar flat arches. The roof is shallow-pitched and hipped, with overhanging boxed eaves and end stacks.
At the rear, there are full-height sash windows and a doorway with a fanlight. The entrance has been re-set from a contemporary section that has since been demolished. The main range, which dates from the 16th or 17th century and was home to Bishop Skinner during the Commonwealth, was demolished in 1965, but the fireplace from the study has been incorporated into a garage.
Local climate
The Old Rectory 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 — 1 application
- 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
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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