Look at a photograph of Lacock as it is today and as it was fifty or even a hundred years ago and
little has changed. Only the motorcar stands out, almost as an intruder, in today's picture. In fact
on a photographic trip, preparing this page, avoiding motor cars seemed my biggest hurdle.
Lacock Abbey was founded in 1229 by Ela Countess of Salisbury. It was an abbey for Augustinian
nuns and it and the village grew up together, each supporting the other. This lasted until 1539,
when with the Dissolution it was sold off to William Sharington, who rebuilt the Abbey as a
family home. It remained that way, in the same family for 405 years, passing through brothers,
nephews, nieces and cousins until in 1944 it was given to the National Trust. Even then members
of the same family continued to live there as the trust's tenants. As the early Lacock villagers had
been tenants of the abbey so they became tenants of Sharington and his descendants and eventually
of the National Trust.
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Left: The George Inn
Oldest pub in the village, indeed one of the oldest in the west. Below: Cantax House
The 18th century brick facade hides a much older building |
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At one time Lacock was a town rather than a village and a busy town at that. It was on the main
London to Bristol road until a new route through Chippenham took away the traffic. The
town/village had its own market each week and the streets were full of shops. Lacock had its own
butchers, bakers and grocers. Not to mention three farms, carpenters, wheelwrights, several pub
and a brewery. Now just a few shops and the pubs supported by the tourist trade remain. There
was a mill in Lacock and several of the houses had looms on their upper floors, all in all a
prosperous little place. The family at the abbey, latterly the Talbots then the National Trust have
continued to care for the fabric of the village.
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It was in 1827 that William Henry Fox Talbot took up residence in the family home, where he
began his work with photography using wooden cameras made to his design by the village
carpenter. There is a museum in the village recording his work together with exhibitions of
contemporary photographers. The abbey too is open to the public while the rest of the village is
a pleasure to walk around. Remember though, only the outsides of the houses are on view, these
are peoples homes and like you, they value their privacy.
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Left: The Red Lion
Another building with a brick "Face Lift" Below: The Angel
or at least the front door of this much photographed establishment. |
| Arguabley the most photographed building in the village. The Angel is believed to have taken its name not from some heavenly being, but from the ancient coin of that name.
I chose to picture only the doorway, because recently the upper story, for years a traditional "Tudor" black and white has been given an all over wash of dung colour. This may be historically correct, but is hardly photogenic. A similar treatment of Wootten Bassett Town Hall caused such a furore that the locals soon had their beloved black and white reinstated. |
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The Carpenters Arms
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