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Lacock
Country house with monastic roots, once home to William Henry Fox Talbot, inventor of the photographic negative
Lacock, near Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 2LG
Opening times for 26 July 2025
Asset Opening time Abbey grounds 10:00 - 17:00 Car park 09:00 - 5pm/dusk if earlier Abbey rooms 10:30 - - Last entry 15:45 Abbey cloisters 10:15 - 16:45 Fox Talbot Museum 10:00 - 17:00 Courtyard tea-room 11:00 - 16:00 Stables café 10:00 - 17:00 Shop 10:00 - 17:00 Second-hand bookshop 10:00 - 16:30 MTWTFSS3012345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031123OpenPartially openClosedAbbey rooms, Fox Talbot Museum and Gardens
Ticket type With Gift Aid Without Gift Aid Adult (18+) £22.00 £20.00 Child (5-17) under 5s free £11.00 £10.00 Family (2 Adults and up to 3 children) £55.00 £50.00 1 adult and up to 3 children £33.00 £30.00 Group (Adult 18+) £19.00 Group (Child 5-17) £9.50 Become a member and discover more than 500 places
- Bookshop
The second hand bookshop is located within the historic courtyard.
- Café
The Stables Cafe in the village sells light lunches, snacks, hot drinks and cakes and is open weekdays and weekends.
- Car park
Follow the signs to the Hither Way car park less than 400 metres from Visitor Reception.
- Dogs allowed
Dogs on short leads are welcome in the garden all year round.
- Plant shop
Plants, pots and decorative garden ware can be found by Visitor Reception on entrance to the abbey.
- Shop
The National Trust gift shop can be found in a beautiful listed building on Lacock's picturesque High Street, selling gifts and souvenirs as well as a range of local artisan products. Find a range of photography books and souvenirs in The Fox Talbot Museum.
- Tea-room
The tea-room in the courtyard sells light snacks, hot drinks and cakes. Please check opening times before travelling.
- Toilet
There are toilets located within the courtyard in the abbey grounds, and by the Stables Cafe in the village.
Blue Badge parking is available in the Hither Way car park. There is an accessible toilet in the courtyard and a RADAR accessible toilet in the village. Access to the Abbey includes steps and uneven floors.
- Accessible toilet
- Level access to shop
- Level access/terrain
- By road
3 miles south of Chippenham. M4 exit 17, signposted to Chippenham (A350). Follow A350 (signposted Poole/Warminster) until you reach Lacock. Sat nav: SN15 2RQ for directions to the car park.
Parking: Parking available in the Hither Way car park. Please display a parking ticket from the machines: members need to show a membership card, while non-members need to pay £5 either by card or using the PayByPhone app. Once parked, follow the signs 200 yards to entrance.
- On foot
Surrounding network of footpaths, including route beside Wiltshire & Berkshire Canal
- By train
Melksham 3 miles; Chippenham 3½ miles
- By bus
Faresaver X34/Chippenham to Frome (passing Melksham train station, close Chippenham train station and close Trowbridge train station) Search for Lacock timetables here: http://www.faresaver.co.uk
Plan your car-free visit with Good Journey and enjoy a free regular size hot drink when you show your bus ticket.
- Cycling
NCN4, 1 mile You can find bike racks in the car park, adjacent to the Red Lion.
- Directions for groups
Travelling by coach? Follow the brown signs or enter Hither Way, Lacock. There are five coach spaces in the main visitor car park, coaches park for free. A closer drop-off point is available on request - please email lacock@nationaltrust.org.uk. Parking is restricted on busy days and Bank Holidays. No parking or dropping off on village streets.
Planning your visit
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Visiting Lacock Abbey with your dog
Dogs are welcome at Lacock Abbey. Discover where you can go with your dog, what facilities are available for them and how to get the most from your visit.
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Group visits to Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village
Find out what you need to know about bringing a group to Lacock, from planning a school visit to coach parking and more.
Highlights
House
A country house with monastic roots and original medieval cloister, once home to William Henry Fox Talbot, photographic pioneer.
Garden
The garden at Lacock combines meandering paths through woodland and parkland with a historic Rose Garden, orchard and William Henry Fox Talbot's Botanic Garden.
Museum and gallery
The Fox Talbot Museum explores the history of photography, and Lacock's role within it, and hosts changing photography exhibitions.
Lacock village
A quintessential English village little changed in 200 years with streets lined with timber-framed houses and independent shops.
Stables Café
Inside and outside seating, serving drinks, light lunches and takeaway snacks and ice cream.
Shopping
Lacock's National Trust High Street Shop sells a range of beautiful gifts, including home and garden ware, food and drink as well as locally produced artisan products.
Tithe Barn
A 14th-century tithe barn in Lacock village.
Second-hand Bookshop
Nestled in a former potato store room next door to the Tudor bakehouse and brewhouse, pick up your next favourite read from the second-hand bookshop in the Courtyard.
Things to see and do
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Discover the history of photography at the Fox Talbot Museum
Learn about the history of photography at the Fox Talbot Museum, with a collection spanning photographic developments up to the present day.
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Visiting the garden at Lacock Abbey
Lacock Abbey's peaceful garden is a place to relax. Discover the Botanic Garden, greenhouse, orchard and woodland along with the sounds of nature at this green natural setting.
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Exploring the village at Lacock
Explore the historic streets of Lacock, a quintessential English village with timber-framed cottages and local shops. With its central grid of four streets, Lacock today looks much as it did 200 years ago.
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Family-friendly things to do at Lacock
Seasonal blooms, activity trails, medieval architecture and photographic discovery: have a fun-filled adventure at Lacock Abbey. Watch the gardens put on a summer show, discover the nature and wildlife of the season and have a day of play in the parkland during the summer holidays. Explore the abbey rooms and discover the window with a unique link to the invention of photography, find out more in the Fox Talbot Museum and feel inspired by the latest exhibition.
Spotlight events
Summer of Play at Lacock Abbey
A Summer of Play returns to Lacock for another year! Explore five different themes of play in the parkland from 19 July to 31 August. Make a different craft every week, dress up, get active, explore nature and scale the heights of the climbing wall (4-8 and 22 - 25 August only). All activities are included in the cost of admission. Summer of Play is sponsored by Starling Bank.
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Unseen Colour: a photography exhibition by Werner Bischof
May 2025 brings an exhibition of previously unseen works by Magnum photographer Werner Bischof to Lacock’s Fox Talbot Museum, in collaboration with Magnum Photos. An early adopter of colour photography through his use of the Devin Tri-Color camera, Unseen Colour brings the photojournalist’s re-discovered colour work to UK audiences for the first time.
Photography Workshops at Lacock
Book onto a photography workshop at Lacock this year, where photographic discoveries were being made by Henry and Constance Talbot in the 1830s. From eco-photography in the Botanic Garden, to calotype and photogenic drawings in Lacock's darkroom, explore creative and historic photographic processes at the home of photography. Choose from two half day workshops with the Sustainable Darkroom on 30 September, and a full day workshop on 1 October using historic photographic processes with artist Jo Gane and calotypist Rob Douglas.
Top trails
Trail
Lacock village walk
This easy walk takes you around the beautiful medieval village of Lacock, with quaint cottages, a ford for little toes to splash in and views of English countryside along the way.
Trail
Lacock pleasure garden walk
Let us guide you through Lacock village and over the remains of a long forgotten water garden. Witness some impressive views of the Abbey, not seen from within the Abbey grounds.
Trail
Lacock Lovers Walk trail
Discover the medieval village of Lacock, Wiltshire on this manageable circular stroll, which passes charming cottages, crosses a ford, and heads along the so-called Lovers Walk.
Eating and shopping
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Eating and shopping at Lacock Abbey
The Stables café and Courtyard Tea-rooms are ready to welcome you for refreshments, while the High Street Shop stocks a wide range of gifts and souvenirs.
Places to stay
2 High Street
In the centre of Lacock village, this 15th-century cottage is packed full of charm and makes a cosy base for exploring Lacock Abbey and the countryside nearby.
Fishlock's Cottage
A simple cottage for two, in the heart of Avebury’s prehistoric ramparts and stone circles.
Upcoming events
Event
Unseen Colour by Werner Bischof: Photography Exhibition
In collaboration with Magnum Photos, discover works of previously unseen colour by World War 2 photojournalist and Magnum photographer, Werner Bischof.
Event
Summer of Play
Join a festival of fun in Lacock's parkland, transformed into a play hub for the summer holidays.
Event
Summer of Play: Crafts with Wiltshire Scrapstore
Upcycle scrap materials into something new and wonderful with Wiltshire Scrapstore.
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Summer of Play: Climbing Wall with Wiltshire Outdoor Learning Team
Scale the heights and get a birds' eye view of the Botanic Garden and woodland.
Event
Illyria Presents Pride and Prejudice
Celebrate Jane Austen's 250th birthday with an outdoor performance of one her best loved tales, brought to Lacock by Illyria Theatre.
Event
Chemigrams with plant-based photo chemistry with the Sustainable Darkroom
Create art prints from plant matter with artist-led research community The Sustainable Darkroom.
Event
Chromotography Workshop with the Sustainable Darkroom
Reveal images of Lacock's soil through chromotography with eco-photography research collective: the Sustainable Darkroom.
Event
Historic Photographic Processes: one day workshop
Follow in the footsteps of William Henry Fox Talbot and make photogenic drawings and calotype negatives in this one-day hands-on workshop using period processes from the 1830s/1840s with artist Jo Gane and calotypist Rob Douglas.
About Lacock
The Abbey, located at the heart of the village within its own woodland grounds, is a country house of various architectural styles, built upon the foundations of a former nunnery. Visitors can experience the atmosphere of the medieval rooms and cloister court, giving a sense of the Abbey's monastic past.
The museum celebrates the achievements of former Lacock resident, William Henry Fox Talbot, famous for his contributions to the invention of photography.
History
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History of Lacock Abbey
In its 800 years of history, Lacock has been an Augustinian abbey, a Tudor family home, a birthplace of photography, and a film and TV location.
Art and collections
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Treasures to see at Lacock Abbey
Three prized items in the collection at Lacock have been included in a special National Trust publication. Discover why they are so unique and where you can find them.
Our work
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Our work at Lacock Abbey
Discover some of the behind-the-scenes work carried out at Lacock Abbey, including how the high ceilings are dusted and how the Victorian clock is kept ticking.
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Lacock Abbey and Village stars on-screen
Discover why the Abbey’s medieval Cloisters and the village’s timber-framed houses have made the perfect location for many TV and film productions.
Support us
Volunteer with us
Search for live volunteering opportunities, or register your interest with Lacock.