Gazetteer of
British Place Names

Lacock Abbey is a former Augustinian nunnery and later country house at Lacock, Wiltshire. Lacock Abbey, dedicated to St Mary and St Bernard, was founded in 1229 by Ela, Countess of Salisbury. Lacock Abbey prospered throughout the Middle Ages, obtaining a sizeable income from wool. Following the Dissolution, Henry VIII sold the abbey to Sir William Sharington who converted the convent into a residence. Much of the abbey survives, including the cloisters and the chapter house and, within the village, a 14th-century tithe barn. During the 19th century the house was the residence of William Henry Fox Talbot. In 1835 he made what may be the earliest surviving photographic camera negative, an image of one of the windows. In 1944 artist Matilda Theresa Talbot gave the house and the surrounding village of Lacock to the National Trust. The house and estate is within the council area of Wiltshire.
Historic England Grade I Listed 1283853.

Place Type: Ecclesiastical Monument
Historic County: Wiltshire
Lat, Long: 51.414721,-2.1174015
Grid Reference: ST 9193 6841
Civil Parish: Lacock CP
Council Area: Wiltshire CA
Police Area: Wiltshire PA

GBPN ID: 319865
Entry Type: Main listing (P)
URL: https://gazetteer.org.uk/place/Lacock_Abbey,_Wiltshire_319865

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