Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village

Important notice -

All our houses, gardens, parks, toilets, cafes, shops and car parks are now closed to further restrict the spread of coronavirus.

Country house with monastic roots, once home to William Henry Fox Talbot, inventor of the photographic negative

More about this place

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Coronavirus update 

From end of Tuesday 24 March, we closed all our car parks to further restrict the spread of coronavirus. This followed the decision to close our parks and gardens in addition to our houses, shops and cafes. We urge people to stay local and observe social distancing. Please do not travel.

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Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village

History

Lacock Abbey in the winter sun

From abbey to country home 

Lacock Abbey is a country house with monastic roots and Britain's birthplace of photography.

A visitor looks at the display in the Fox Talbot Museum in Lacock in Wiltshire

Fox Talbot Museum 

The Fox Talbot Museum explores the history of photography, housing a collection spanning photographic developments up to the present day.

Houses in the village of Lacock, Wiltshire

Lacock village and countryside 

With its central grid of four streets, Lacock today looks much like it did 200 years ago. Lacock is a quintessential English village with streets lined with timber-framed cottages and local shops.

The cauldron in the Warming Room at Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire

Lacock on screen 

Lacock is a famous filming location and its appearances include Harry Potter, Wolf Hall and Pride and Prejudice. Look out for the Abbey in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

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Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village

Our work

Conservation Assistants cleaning the cauldron in the Warming Room, Lacock Abbey

Looking after Lacock Abbey over winter 

Over winter, many of the rooms in the abbey are closed to give Lacock's hardworking house team a chance to get stuck into the winter conservation deep clean.

Clock face in the tall clock-tower at the west side of the courtyard at Lacock Abbey

Winding Lacock's courtyard clock 

Like the Abbey itself, the Victorian courtyard clock at Lacock is known for its quirks. The Abbey team explain how they look after this special piece of Lacock's history.

Volunteer cleaning one of Lacock's Tudor tiles

Conserving Lacock's Medieval tiles 

The conservation team at Lacock Abbey have been working to clean and conserve over a thousand tiles dating back to the 1200s.

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Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village

Art and collections

A white woman's cheek, neck and red hair turned away from the camera

'Adornments' by Carla van de Puttelaar 

While the Fox Talbot Museum is temporarily closed, you can still enjoy a selection of works by Dutch artist, Carla van de Puttelaar, from her current exhibition in the museum, 'Adornments'. (Please note that the exhibition contains nudes.)

Our collections

Explore the objects and works of art we care for at Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village on the National Trust Collections website

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