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Locksmith Wantage OX12 Grove and Letcombe
Around King Alfred's statue in the Market Place, across the Grove Airfield and Crab Hill estates and out to Letcombe and the Hendreds, day or night.
Get a locksmith in Wantage or Grove
Tell us what you need and we will call you straight back. Calling is quickest: 07520 644 595. Photos by WhatsApp: 07466 695655
Market town and Grove both
Wantage centre, Charlton, Grove and the new estates on the edges of both.
A34 then the A338
Usually 30 to 45 minutes from North Oxford, via Frilford and East Hanney.
Downland villages
Letcombe Regis, Childrey, Ardington and the Hendreds below the Ridgeway.
Fixed quote before we drive
Travel is usually £10 to £20 and is included in the price we agree.
Dave Oxford Locksmith is a 24 hour locksmith for Wantage, Grove and the OX12 villages, usually reaching you in 30 to 45 minutes from North Oxford, with daytime lockouts from £59 and travel usually £10 to £20 depending on how far into the Vale you are. The total is agreed on the phone first and does not move once we arrive.
We work on the brick and stone houses around the Market Place, the post war estates in Charlton and Grove, the big new developments at Grove Airfield and Crab Hill, and the villages under the Downs from Letcombe Regis and Childrey across to East Hendred and Ardington.
Wantage, Grove and the OX12 Villages
Wantage is the old market town, birthplace of King Alfred, with his statue standing in the Market Place. Grove, just to the north, is now almost as large and is home to the Williams Formula 1 factory and a growing cluster of business units. Around them, OX12 covers the villages strung along the foot of the Ridgeway and the flatter farmland towards the Hanneys.
For villages over the county line towards Lambourn, ring and ask. If we can reach you sensibly we will say so, and if a closer locksmith makes more sense we will tell you that too.
How Long Is a Locksmith to Wantage From Oxford?
From 169 Woodstock Road we take the A34 south to the Marcham interchange, follow the A415 west to Frilford, then turn south onto the A338. That road runs past East Hanney and straight into Grove, with Wantage a couple of minutes further on. It is roughly 15 miles from central Oxford.
At night that usually takes around 30 minutes. During the school run or the evening rush, with tractors on the A338 and queues on the A34, allow up to 45. For the Hendreds and Ardington we sometimes come along the A417 from the Didcot side instead, which can be quicker for the eastern villages.
The travel charge reflects that distance. Grove and the nearer side of Wantage are usually £10, while the villages furthest west and up towards the Downs can be £20. Either way, it is included in the figure we agree before we set off.
Old Town Houses, Estate Villages and New Builds
OX12 has a wider spread of house types than most of the Vale, and each one brings its own lock problems.
Market Place and Newbury Street
Georgian and Victorian brick and stone houses, some with shops below and flats above. Timber doors with rim nightlatches and mortices, communal side doors to upper flats, and sash windows that need proper window locks.
Charlton and the Grove estates
Streets built from the 1960s to the 1990s, now mostly fitted with uPVC doors on their second or third replacement. Worn gearboxes, sagging doors and cylinders with keys that have been copied many times.
Grove Airfield and Crab Hill
Large modern developments with composite front doors, multipoint locks and patio or bifold doors at the back. New owners often want every cylinder changed and upgraded on day one.
Ardington, Letcombe and the Hendreds
Thatch, chalk, brick and Victorian estate cottages, many listed or in conservation areas. Original doors with old locks that we repair and match rather than replace with something out of character.
Jobs We Do Most Often in Wantage and Grove
Lockouts. Most are a nightlatch or uPVC door pulled shut with the keys on the hall table. Our emergency lockout service gets you back in without harm to the lock in most cases, from £59 in the day.
uPVC handles that will not lift. On the older estates in Grove this is the most common repair. Usually a worn multipoint gearbox, sometimes just a door that has dropped. See our multipoint lock replacement page for the signs.
Patio and bifold doors. New homes at Grove Airfield and Crab Hill often have large glazed rear doors with their own locks and handles, which wear quickly with family use. Our patio door lock repair service covers sliding and French doors.
Lock changes after a move. With so many new homes changing hands, a cylinder swap on day one is a common request. A new euro cylinder is £65 to £85 plus the lock, with three keys.
Business units. Shops in the town centre and units around Grove call us for lockouts, keypad locks and lock changes when staff leave. Our commercial locksmith page has the details.
Moved Into Grove Airfield or Crab Hill? A First Week Lock Checklist
Buying a brand new house does not mean you are the only key holder. Site managers, sales staff, snagging trades and sometimes previous buyers who pulled out can all have handled your keys. On a resale home in Charlton or the older parts of Grove, the list is longer still. A quick check in your first week is worth doing:
- Count the keys you were given for every door, including the garage and any side gate, and ask the seller or agent how many exist.
- Look at the front cylinder. If it has no kitemark and three stars, or it sticks out past the handle, plan an anti snap upgrade.
- Lift the handle and lock the door with it open. If the hooks scrape or the key is stiff, the door needs adjusting before it gets worse.
- Check the back and patio doors as carefully as the front, because they are out of sight from the road.
- Fit window locks on ground floor windows, especially on houses that back onto open fields.
Choosing a Locksmith You Can Trust in OX12
What we do on every Wantage call
We are DBS checked and insured to £1 million. The price is fixed on the phone and only changes if you agree. We try non destructive entry first, ask for proof of address before opening any home, and leave an itemised invoice.
Some national call centres advertise as local and then send whoever is free, with a price that grows on the doorstep. Our guide to finding a reliable locksmith in Oxfordshire explains the warning signs to look for before you let anyone in.
In an emergency where someone vulnerable is trapped inside, or there is water or heat running unattended, ring 999 before you ring us.
Nearby Locksmith Areas to Wantage
East along the A417 is Didcot and Harwell in OX11. North on the A338 you pass through the OX13 villages around Marcham and Frilford. West towards Swindon is Faringdon and Uffington. All of them sit within our wider Oxfordshire service area, and the whole district is summarised on our Vale of White Horse page.
Wantage and Grove Prices
Standard starting prices for OX12 jobs, VAT and labour included, with any parts listed separately.
| Service | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Door opening daytime (non destructive) | £59 to £79 | Most doors opened without damage |
| Door opening evenings, weekends, bank holidays | £79 to £99 | After 8pm, weekends and bank holidays |
| Front or back door lock change (euro cylinder) | £65 to £85 | Plus lock £25 to £40, 3 keys |
| uPVC multipoint mechanism replacement | £85 to £125 | Plus mechanism £65 to £150 |
| Patio door lock | £85 to £125 | Plus lock £40 to £80 |
| Nightlatch (Yale style rim lock) fitting | £75 to £95 | Plus lock £30 to £60 |
| Window locks | £35 to £55 | Plus lock £15 to £30 each |
| Commercial lock change | £75 to £115 | Plus lock £40 to £150 |
Travel to Wantage and Grove is usually £10 to £20 because they sit around 15 miles from central Oxford, with the outer villages at the higher end.
Prices include VAT and labour. Parts are listed separately. See the full Oxford locksmith price list.
