The present manor house is 17th-century, with a court room that was re-ordered in the 19th century.[3] Its farmyard has a 14th- or 15th-century barn of 10 bays with 17th-century roof timbers. The barn may have been a tithe barn and now forms the centrepiece of a wedding venue called 'The Tythe Barn' after being restored in 1997.[4][5] It is now a Grade II* listed building.[6]
Church and chapels
Church of England
The Church of England parish church of the Assumption of the Blesséd Virgin Mary was built in the 12th century, and the four-bay aisles of its nave were added in the 13th century.[7][8] Sources disagree as to whether the west tower is part of the original 12th-century church[8] or a 13th-century addition.[7] Originally the chancel had an apse, but in the 15th century this part of the church was reordered with a rectangular east end.[8][9] The nave has a clerestory with 15th- or 16th-century windows.[8] Some of the windows of the aisles are 16th-century.[8][9]
Launton had a Presbyterian congregation by 1772, when a meeting house was licensed for it. The congregation lapsed by about 1800, but was re-established by 1806. In 1807 Zion chapel was built for it on the western edge of the village. Later in the 19th century the chapel was used as a school.[2]
Congregational chapel
Bethel chapel was built in 1850 for an independent Nonconformist congregation. By 1855 it had a lending library and a school. It later joined the Congregational Church.[2][14]
The Black Bull, renamed in 2020 to The Launton Arms
Launton has two public houses: The Bull Inn at the crossroads in the centre of the village and The Launton Arms (formerly The Black Bull) at West End.[15] The village has also a post office, a butchers and a hair salon.
Launton has a Parish Hall. The Sports and Social Club provides the home pitch for Launton Football Club, plus a tennis court and small children's play area.[17]
The Launton Village Players is an amateur theatre group living in and around Launton who perform an annual pantomime at The Cooper School in Bicester, and musical shows and plays in the village.[18]
The village has a Woods on your Doorstep[19] at Island Pond Wood, managed by The Woodland Trust.[20] Villagers bought it by public subscription and planted it in 1999.[20]
Stagecoach in Oxfordshire bus route 28 links Launton with Bicester.[21] Buses run hourly, Monday to Saturday. There is no service on Sunday or on public holidays.[22]
