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Locksmith Headington OX3 Marston and Barton
Lockouts after a night shift at the JR, Brookes house shares, stone cottages in Old Headington and new composite doors at Barton Park. Price agreed before we set off.
Get a locksmith in Headington
Tell us what you need and we will call you straight back. Calling is quickest: 07520 644 595. Photos by WhatsApp: 07466 695655
Night shift lockouts
Home from the JR or Churchill at 3am with no keys? We answer 24 hours.
Brookes house shares
Bedroom locks, rekeys between tenancies and itemised invoices for landlords.
Keys cut at your door
Extra house keys from £8 to £25 each, cut on site in Headington.
Marston Ferry Road route
Straight across from North Oxford. Usually 15 to 30 minutes.
As your locksmith in Headington, we open locked doors, change and repair locks and cut keys across OX3, from Old Headington and Highfield to Marston, Barton, Risinghurst and Wood Farm. We usually arrive within 15 to 30 minutes of your call, at any hour, and a daytime lockout costs £59 to £79 with no travel charge because Headington is well inside our free zone.
Headington has more shift workers and short-term tenants than almost anywhere else in Oxford, thanks to the John Radcliffe, the Churchill, the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and Oxford Brookes. That shapes the calls we get here, and this page is built around them.
From North Oxford to Headington: the route and timing
Our base is at 169 Woodstock Road. For Marston, Northway and the streets around the JR, the quickest way is usually east along Marston Ferry Road, over the Cherwell and up Headley Way. For Barton, Sandhills and Risinghurst we normally take the northern bypass to the Headington roundabout instead. Wood Farm and the Churchill side are reached from the eastern bypass.
Outside the school run that drive is usually 15 to 30 minutes. The slow spots are the London Road through Headington centre at peak times and the queues for the hospital car parks on Headley Way, so if you are near the JR we may give you a slightly longer window in the morning. At night we are often quicker than the estimate.
Headington, Marston and Barton: what each area needs
Old Headington and Headington Quarry
Stone cottages, walled lanes and listed buildings. Expect plank and panelled timber doors with rim latches and old box locks. We fit discreet BS3621 mortice deadlocks and keep the original ironwork where we can.
Highfield and the London Road streets
Edwardian and 1930s houses, many now shared lets. Typical job: a tired nightlatch, a mortice nobody has a key for, or a bedroom door lock to change.
Marston and Northway
Inter-war and post-war semis, a lot with replacement uPVC doors. Dropped doors and stiff multipoint handles are the common call.
Barton, Barton Park, Sandhills, Risinghurst and Wood Farm
Post-war estates alongside the new homes at Barton Park. Composite doors with euro cylinders, where an anti-snap upgrade makes the biggest difference.
Locked out after a hospital shift in Headington
Many of our Headington lockouts come from nurses, doctors and support staff finishing a late or night shift, who realise at the front door that their keys are in a locker at work. If you can get back to the locker safely, that is the cheapest fix. If not, here is what to expect from us:
Call from the doorstep
Tell us the door type. A photo on WhatsApp to 07466 695655 helps us bring the right tools.
Fixed night price
After 8pm a lockout is £79 to £99. After 11pm a supplement applies, and we tell you the total before leaving.
Quiet, non-destructive entry
Important in shared houses where others are asleep. Most doors open without drilling.
Proof of address
We check ID once you are inside if it was left there, then hand over an itemised invoice.
Our locked out service page explains each entry method, and the guide on how to avoid getting locked out again has tips that suit shift work, such as a key safe away from the front door.
Brookes student houses and landlord lock changes
Oxford Brookes has its main campus at Headington Hill and Gipsy Lane, and many second and third year students rent shared houses in Headington, Marston and Wood Farm. For landlords that means locks changing hands every summer.
Our usual approach is to rekey rather than replace. At £45 to £65 per lock, a rekey makes last year’s keys useless without buying new hardware. Where a front door has a euro cylinder, we often suggest swapping it for a TS007 3-star anti-snap cylinder at the same time, since the cost difference is small when we are already on site. Bedroom doors can be fitted with simple sashlocks so each tenant has a key to their own room.
Letting agents can book this between tenancies, and the invoice lists every lock and key. More on this in our landlord and letting agent guide.
Key cutting in Headington without going into town
People search for key cutting in Headington because the nearest counter may not stock the blank they need, or they cannot leave the house. We carry common cylinder and mortice key blanks and cut extra keys on site for £8 to £25 per key, usually while finishing another job. If you only need keys, we can still come, but a shop is cheaper for a single standard copy and we will tell you that honestly.
Where we do save you a trip is with car keys. We cut and program car keys at the roadside, so if you have lost your only car key in a hospital car park, we can make a new one there. See car key replacement, from £90 for a spare and from £170 when all keys are lost.
London Road shops, clinics and the Thornhill park and ride
Headington centre along the London Road is a proper high street, with independent shops, cafes, dental and physio practices and offices above. These businesses tend to call us about a cylinder that has stopped turning on a shopfront, a door closer slamming the entrance, or a lost key after a staff member leaves. Office and shop lockouts are £89 to £129, and our commercial locksmith page covers master keying for practices with many rooms.
Out at the eastern edge, Thornhill park and ride is a common spot for car calls: commuters returning from London on the coach to find a key fob dead or the keys locked inside. We come to the car park, open the car without damage from £85 in the daytime, and can program a replacement fob if needed.
Why so many Marston and Barton doors will not lock
If you have to lift the handle hard before the key will turn, the door has usually dropped on its hinges and the multipoint hooks no longer meet their keeps. Forcing it is what eventually breaks the gearbox. A uPVC door adjustment at £65 to £95 often solves it, and if the mechanism has already failed, a replacement is £85 to £125 plus the part.
Neighbouring pages: Cowley OX4 to the south, Summertown OX2 across the Cherwell, and Thame OX9 out along the A40. The full list is on our areas we cover page.
Headington locksmith prices
Prices include VAT and labour, parts are separate, and there is no travel charge to OX3.
| Service | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Door opening daytime (non-destructive) | £59 to £79 | Free travel to Headington |
| Door opening evenings (after 8pm), weekends, bank holidays | £79 to £99 | Night shift lockouts |
| Lock rekey | £45 to £65 per lock | Student lets between tenancies |
| Extra keys | £8 to £25 per key | Cut on site |
| uPVC door adjustment (dropped/misaligned) | £65 to £95 | Handle needs lifting hard |
| Anti-snap cylinder upgrade (TS007 3-star) | £95 to £135 + cylinder £50 to £120 | Composite and uPVC doors |
| Spare car key (copied from working key) | from £90 | Cut and coded at the car |
Travel to Headington, Marston and Barton is free because OX3 is within 5 miles of central Oxford.
Prices include VAT and labour. Parts are listed separately. See the full Oxford locksmith price list.
