Looking for builders in Oxfordshire? The Lynch family has been building here since 1984, and on Oxford sites since our grandfather worked on the Clarendon Centre in the 1950s. Today the firm is run by brothers Henry and John Lynch, both of whom started as apprentice carpenters, and one of them walks every site we take on. Behind them sits a team of 50-plus tradespeople and our own machinery, with rendering, liquid screed and high-end decorating handled in-house through the wider Lynch Group. From our yard at Bradley Farm in Cumnor we run projects from Banbury to Henley-on-Thames: one county, five planning authorities, one builder who knows all of them.
Builders in Oxfordshire for extensions, lofts and new builds
Most of what we build across the county falls into four jobs. House extensions, from a single-storey kitchen opening onto a village garden to double-storey additions that reshape how a family uses its home. Loft conversions, where the right answer depends on your roof: rooflights where planning is tight, dormers, hip-to-gable and mansard where it isn’t. Whole-house renovations, including the deep-retrofit end: we’ve invested in PassivHaus and EnerPhit training because Oxfordshire’s older stock leaks heat and its owners increasingly want that fixed properly. And new builds, from single plots to replacement dwellings.
On money, we’d rather you had numbers than adjectives. Single-storey extensions typically run £30,000 to £50,000, two-storey £55,000 to £90,000 and up, loft conversions £35,000 to £55,000; period and listed buildings sit above those ranges where matching stone, brick or lime work is involved. Our 2026 guides to extension costs and loft conversion costs show what actually moves the figure. Every quote follows a free site visit; we don’t price from photographs. We’re TrustMark registered and Federation of Master Builders members, and most of our work still arrives the old way: recommendation.
The county itself sets the brief. West of Witney the stone turns Cotswold and half the villages sit in conservation areas; south of the Downs it’s chalk, timber and thatch; Oxford is Victorian brick terrace after Victorian brick terrace with a Green Belt drawn tight around it; and the growth towns, Didcot, Bicester and Banbury, are adding modern estates at pace. A builder in Oxfordshire has to be comfortable at both ends: breathable lime mortar on a solid 18th-century wall on Monday, airtightness membranes on a new-build plot on Tuesday. We are, and the projects below show it.
Our work across Oxfordshire
Judge builders by finished buildings. In Oxford: a ground-floor extension on Quarry Road and the 80 Lime Walk project in Headington, Boulter Street in St Clement’s, Newton Road, and The Shannon in Summertown. South of the city in Kennington, two of our proudest new builds stand a short walk apart: Wayside House and the characterful Sun and Abbey House. In the Vale there’s a loft conversion in Abingdon and 39 Sutton Wick Lane in Drayton; north of Oxford, The Nook in Islip. The full gallery has the rest, and if you’d rather hear it than read it, we’ll put you in touch with a past client near you.
Five planning authorities, one county
Oxfordshire planning is not one system, and this catches people out. The county runs five local planning authorities, each with its own local plan, conservation team and temperament: Oxford City Council, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, Cherwell and West Oxfordshire. South Oxfordshire alone has 72 designated conservation areas; dozens of parishes across the county now have adopted Neighbourhood Plans that carry full weight in decisions, so the rules genuinely change from one village to the next. A dormer that’s permitted development in Kidlington needs a full application in Wheatley’s conservation area; the Green Belt bites hard on plots around Oxford; the Cotswolds end of West Oxfordshire brings its own design expectations.
We don’t treat any of that as your problem. Before we quote, we establish which authority you’re under, your conservation area status, and what your parish plan says. Where an application is needed we prepare the drawings, handle building regulations and deal with the planning officers ourselves. It’s the least glamorous part of building in this county, and it’s the part that most often decides whether a project runs smoothly.
Where we work
The map shows our main towns across the five authority areas; every marker links to that area’s page, and the lists below cover everywhere we’ve built a dedicated page. If your village isn’t on it, keep reading.
Oxford
Our heartland: Headington, Summertown, Jericho, Marston, Cowley, St Clement’s and the centre, under Oxford City Council’s rules, conservation areas and Green Belt edges included. City work runs through our main Oxford builders page and services.
South Oxfordshire
Henley-on-Thames, Didcot, Wallingford, Thame, Wheatley, Dorchester-on-Thames, Woodcote, Whitchurch-on-Thames and Lower Shiplake.
Vale of White Horse
Abingdon, Wantage, Faringdon, Kennington, Cumnor (home), Drayton, Boars Hill, Chawley, East Hendred, East Challow, Letcombe Regis, Chilton and Milton.
Cherwell
Banbury, Bicester, Kidlington, Bodicote, Bloxham, Islip, Upper Heyford, Ambrosden, Steeple Aston, Wardington and Sibford Gower.
West Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds
Witney, Woodstock, Eynsham, Carterton, Bampton, Chipping Norton, Burford, Charlbury, Kingham, Ascott-under-Wychwood, Milton-under-Wychwood, Bladon, Stonesfield, Finstock, North Leigh and the wider Cotswolds.
Can’t see your village?
We still cover it. The pages above are our main towns, not the boundary of where we work. A farmhouse outside Chalgrove, a cottage above Goring, a barn near Hook Norton: if it’s in Oxfordshire, we’ll build there, and we regularly take the right projects over the border into the neighbouring counties too. Use the page for your nearest town, or skip the reading and call 01865 420063 with a postcode.
Frequently asked questions
Do you really cover the whole of Oxfordshire?
Yes. Cumnor sits just west of Oxford with the A34, A40 and A420 on the doorstep, so no corner of the county is far. We run our own diggers, dumpers and vehicles, which means no hire-queue delays when a job is an hour from the yard, and we take on the right projects over the county border as well.
Which planning authorities do you work with?
All five in Oxfordshire: Oxford City Council, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, Cherwell and West Oxfordshire. Before we quote we establish your authority, your conservation area status and what your parish’s Neighbourhood Plan says, then we prepare drawings and manage the application where one is needed.
How much do building projects cost in Oxfordshire?
As a guide, single-storey extensions typically run £30,000 to £50,000, two-storey extensions £55,000 to £90,000 and up, and loft conversions £35,000 to £55,000. Period and listed properties sit above those ranges where matching materials or specialist trades are involved. Every quote follows a free site visit.
Do you charge for a quote or first visit?
No. We visit your property anywhere in Oxfordshire, talk through what you want to achieve, and give honest advice on approach, budget and timescales. No charge, no obligation, and no pricing from photographs.
Can I see your work near me?
Probably. The project gallery covers new builds, extensions and renovations across Oxford, Kennington, Abingdon, Drayton and Islip, and we’re glad to put you in touch with past clients near you so you can hear how the build actually ran, snags and all.
To talk through a project anywhere in Oxfordshire, call 01865 420063 or send us the details and we’ll arrange a visit.