Lacock Abbey is a medieval abbey located a few miles south of the town of Chippenham and just over 30 miles (48 km) from Bristol. The abbey, like the entire village, is cared for by the well-known British charitable organisation the National Trust. The Trust is responsible for the protection of historic buildings, woodland, parks, and hundreds of miles of coastline across the United Kingdom. On our website, we have written many times about places we have visited that are under the care of this institution.
In the article below, I will tell you about the remarkable place that is Lacock Abbey, its history and the people connected with it. At the end, I will also share a handful of interesting facts that will help you get to know this place better.
Lacock Abbey – Harry Potter and the famous young wizard
To the list of places we have visited under the care of the National Trust, we can add the village of Lacock with its famous Lacock Abbey. Why is it so famous? Simply put, this location has served as a film set for many television and cinema productions. You have almost certainly seen this area on screen more than once, even if you were not aware of it. One well-known example is the film series about the young wizard, Harry Potter.
The village of Lacock is beautiful, unusual and truly unique, thanks to the careful preservation of the traditional appearance of its streets, houses and public buildings. You will not find modern street lamps, shop signs or advertisements here. There are no telegraph poles, visible cables or modern developments. Everything looks exactly as it did several hundred years ago. The only sign of modern life is the cars parked near the houses, but these can easily be removed to create a ready-made film set for historical productions.
A local pub – a treasure trove of stories
One of the residents of Lacock, whom we met in a local pub, told us a story about a film shoot during which the villagers were asked not to drive into the village. If possible, they were asked not to leave their homes for several days. At that time, in the middle of summer, the entire village was covered in artificial snow, and scenes were filmed showing the main characters walking through frosty, wintry streets. In such situations, residents receive compensation for the inconvenience. In the story we were told, the payment amounted to £250. Not bad, is it? Especially considering, there is a good chance of spotting a famous actor right outside your window.
In the pub I mentioned, photographs of guests dining there hang on the walls. You can see Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and the red-haired Rupert Grint. There is also, of course, Richard Harris, who played the wise Albus Dumbledore. The photos are amusing, as they show many people standing next to the old wizard, holding his long beard while he enjoys a bowl of soup.
Some time ago, we also visited Warner Bros. Studio in London. This film studio, or rather a vast film set, is where most of the scenes for all the films about the young wizard with a lightning-shaped scar were shot. The place made a giant impression on us and we can highly recommend it.
The village of Lacock in western England
The village of Lacock is full of old buildings, bent and shaped by time, which on closer inspection turn out to be in excellent condition. Even just for these buildings alone, and for a walk along the cobbled streets of this unusual, seemingly time-frozen place, it is well worth visiting Lacock. Its distinctive appearance and long history are not the only attractions of this ancient village. Right on the banks of the River Avon stands a large Gothic building associated with the Talbot family.
Although for centuries this place served successive wealthy and influential English families as their ancestral home, this was not its original purpose. In the 12th century, the recently widowed and grief-stricken Countess of Salisbury, Ela FitzPatrick, decided to devote herself to the fate of lonely women and ordered the construction of a convent on her land. It was intended to provide shelter for unmarried women and widows who were unable to cope with loneliness.
In reality, over the following centuries, the abbey became a place of exile for daughters from wealthy families who had failed to marry. It is worth remembering that in those distant times, spinsterhood began at a very young age. Twenty-year-old women were already considered old maids and a burden to their families.
Lacock Abbey – a silent witness to past centuries
Years and entire centuries passed, and the peaceful abbey successfully withstood the turmoil of wars, rebellions and violence, all of which were not uncommon in England at the time. Thanks to the wool trade, local villagers and the gentry lived in relative prosperity throughout the Middle Ages. This continued until the mid-16th century when the great Reformation arrived. The abbey was dissolved, meaning it was removed from the authority of the Church. The building and its surrounding lands passed into the hands of Sir William Sharington, who began a gradual conversion of the former monastery. Eventually, after many changes, the old building ceased to resemble a church and became a fine noble residence.
To this day, the house is full of objects left behind by its former owners. There are portraits of distant ancestors, impressive libraries, musical instruments and a great deal of scientific equipment, including telescopes, binoculars, microscopes, scales and many other devices I was unable to identify. When you step inside, pay particular attention to the entrance hall, which is decorated with statues remaining from the old abbey. Many of them resemble characters from modern fantasy novels more than traditional saints. I managed to spot Gandalf, while Magda found an old witch with a goat.
Lacock Abbey and the Fox Talbot Museum
After the Sharington family, in the second half of the 18th century, Lacock Abbey and the surrounding village came into the possession of the Talbot family. Renovation work began once again, and after several years the building standing by the river was no longer a slightly refurbished thousand-year-old monastery, but a cosy and genuinely beautiful estate that you can visit today. The Talbot family made many contributions to the history of England, but we were most interested in William Henry Fox Talbot — a British archaeologist, chemist, botanist, linguist and a very capable mathematician.
As you can see, he was a true Renaissance man whose interests knew no boundaries. However, he is remembered above all as a pioneer of photography. Thanks to his research, negative photography was developed, making it possible to produce countless copies of a single image. As one of the first enthusiasts of photography, he treated it as an art form and played a key role in its popularisation. In the village of Lacock, the most impressive building has been turned into a museum dedicated to this fascinating man. One of the most remarkable exhibits we found there was the first photograph ever taken in Great Britain.
The beautiful parks and gardens surrounding the estate
Lacock Abbey is not only the beautiful Gothic building described above, but also the gardens and parkland that surround it. Vast green areas are carefully maintained and are an attraction in their own right. While walking along the paths and woodland tracks, we frequently came across thoughtfully arranged installations related to photography. Along the paths, metal viewing tubes have been placed, allowing visitors to see the surroundings exactly as they would appear when viewed through the aperture of an old wooden camera.
In open spaces, there are prisms and magnifying lenses — the only optical instruments known in the early days of photography. Looking at such simple tools, one must admit that the beginnings of photography were far from easy. A stream flows through the estate, crossed by ornately decorated bridges and footbridges, while sheep graze just beyond the fence. It is truly a place where you can find peace, relax and learn something meaningful at the same time.
Lacock Bakery
What else awaits you in the village of Lacock? Quite a lot. Be sure to visit Lacock Bakery for traditional cakes and chocolates. The bakery is located in the centre of the village and is said to have been operating for generations. A little further along is Quintessentially English Soaps Stock, where you can buy wonderful handmade soaps. Only natural ingredients are used in their production, and the methods employed date back a long way into the past. There is no pressure to buy anything — you can simply sit down and enjoy a cup of tea.
Tithe Barn
Almost in the very centre of the village stands a large, restored barn known as the Tithe Barn. It is one of the largest buildings in the area and served many useful purposes in the past. For example, during old-fashioned picnics organised by the gentry, peasants who had drunk themselves unconscious were carried here from the streets.
CoCoChemistry
This is something for lovers of chocolate and other sweet treats. The place always smells of burnt sugar and vanilla. You can buy handmade chocolate and the popular British fudge in many flavours. The staff are very friendly and will happily tell you about their production methods and recipes with great enthusiasm.
Summary of our visit to Lacock Abbey
These are just a few of the main attractions that appealed to us. You will certainly discover many more, and I am convinced you will have a wonderful time. As I mentioned at the beginning, the entire village is extraordinary and seems frozen in time, like one of the old photographs taken by William Henry Fox Talbot.
Practical information
- The village of Lacock itself can be visited free of charge, but entry to Lacock Abbey costs £15 for an adult and just under £8 for a child. Parking costs a few pounds extra. For National Trust members, everything is free.
- It is a good idea to arrive early, as this is a popular destination that attracts many visitors.
- Address — Lacock, near Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 2LG
Interesting facts about Lacock Abbey
- The village has fewer than 1,200 residents, and this number has remained roughly the same for several hundred years. The reason is a ban on the construction of new houses.
- Among the better-known films shot at Lacock Abbey are:
- Pride and Prejudice
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- The Other Boleyn Girl
- More recent productions include Fantastic Beasts, also set in the world of Harry Potter.
- The village of Lacock was already mentioned in the famous Domesday Book of 1086. According to the data recorded there, England’s population at the time was around 1.1 million people.
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