Discover the history of photography at the Fox Talbot Museum

A visitor explores displays at the Fox Talbot Museum at Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire — Visitor in the Fox Talbot Museum at Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire. | © National Trust Images / Arnhel de Serra

Discover the important contributions made to early photography by a former resident of Lacock, William Henry Fox Talbot. The museum celebrates his world-changing breakthroughs in photography and hosts a changing programme of photography exhibitions.

Who was William Henry Fox Talbot?

One man’s scientific curiosity changed the way we see the world, forever. William Henry Fox Talbot was a polymath whose interests ranged across chemistry, botany, astronomy and mathematics, and a pioneer of Victorian photography.

Born in 1800, he was only five months old when he inherited Lacock Abbey. In 1835, he created the earliest surviving photographic negative, taken of a small window in the abbey’s South Gallery.

The first photographic negative

In the early 19th century, images could only be created through the medium of painting and drawing. Frustrated by his lack of artistic ability, William Henry Fox Talbot began searching for a way to 'fix images'.

After some experiments Talbot took an image of a window at his home, Lacock Abbey, in 1835. This image, not much bigger than a postage stamp, is now celebrated as the world’s earliest surviving photographic negative.

Talbot's reaction

Talbot notes that, 'When first made, the squares of glass about 200 in number could be counted'.

This tells us that when the image was first taken it was clear enough to be able to count all the individual panes of glass that make up the window. This window has not changed and can still be seen today inside the Abbey today.

A visitor takes a photo of a half-timbered house in Lacock village, Wiltshire on a summer day — Visitor taking photos of Lacock village | © National Trust Images / James Dobson

The Fox Talbot Museum at Lacock

The Fox Talbot Museum is housed in a 16th-century barn once used as stables. It tells the story of the birth of photography with objects and technology from the early years of photography.

Through the museum, go back in time to see Fox Talbot's small mousetrap camera. Discover how photography developed and the chemistry behind Talbot's process. Find out how two men entered into a race to claim the title of 'inventor of photography'.

Photography exhibitions

The Upper Gallery of the Fox Talbot Museum at Lacock houses changing photography exhibitions throughout the year, with a wide range of images and photographers.

From May 27 the Fox Talbot Museum will be hosting Light Struck, a solo exhibition of works by artist and photographer Ellen Carey. Named by the Royal Photographic Society in 2019 as one of their 'hundred heroines' of photography, Carey's work explores two centuries of photographic invention, celebrating colour, light and paying homage to Fox Talbot's early experiments with photograms. She works with a supersized instant camera, using Polaroid technology to marry original photographic techniques with modern processes. Light Struck aims to prompt the viewer to ask 'how is this made?' and 'what is photography in the 21st century?'

Featuring a piece created especially for Lacock in response to Fox Talbot's photogram 'Cascade of Spruce Needles'. The exhibition runs until 31 March 2024.