Lacock
National Trust Village and Abbey
Find out about..........
Early Origins and History of the Village
Origins and Early History
The Settlement at Lacock goes back to Saxon times - possibly earlier. The name probably comes from the Saxon "lacuc", a little stream, meaning the Bide Brook which runs through the Village.
The Abbey is also of great architectural interest. A medieval nunnery was founded among the Lacock water meadows in 1232 by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, who became the first abbess. Ela obtained charters for an annual fair and a Weekly market and in the later Middle Ages Lacock was a thriving wool town, with spinning and weaving and other local industries. Though it was dissolved by Henry VIII in I539, fortunately the monastic buildings largely survived. In the mid eighteenth century, Lacock Abbey was in the forefront of the Gothic Revival, when the lofty Great Hall was rebuilt in Gothick style by John Ivory Talbot, Fox Talbot's great-grandfather. As it now stands, Lacock Abbey is a mixture of styles - medieval cloisters, Tudor stable court (shown in a number of Fox Talbot's early photographs), and the Gothick Hall.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Abbey was bought by William Sharington and converted into a house. The people of Lacock remained tenants of the Sharington and later the Talbot families until the village was given to The National Trust by Miss Matilda Talbot in 1944.
Fox Talbot and Lacock Abbey
Lacock Abbey is also the goal of photographers from all over the world, since it was here, in 1835, that the most famous member of the family, William Henry Fox Talbot made what is generally acknowledged as the world's first photographic negative. This was of the latticed oriel window in the South Gallery, where a print from that first negative, hardly bigger than a postage stamp, hangs near the window.
The Abbey is well worth a visit and for opening times, disabled access and other details please see the Lacock Abbey page at The National Trust site.
A large barn outside the Abbey gates has been converted into an excellent small museum (the Fox Talbot Museum) tracing the history of photography. For museum opening times and other details go to The FoxTalbot Museum page at the National Trust site.
TV and Film locations in Lacock
The oldest house is King John's Hunting Lodge beside the Church, parts of which are of the 13th century. In front of King John's Hunting lodge is the old market place. With its four streets, Lacock still resembles a medieval town, with houses of every century from the 13th to the 18th, but very little building of the 19th or 20th centuries.
As such it is very popular location with film companies for period drama. Filming has included Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" and "Emma", which were shown on BBC TV and the ITV network respectively, and an adaptation of "Moll Flanders" which was also shown on ITV.
Filming "Pride and Prejudice"
During the filming of "Moll Flanders" the film company managed to upset the locals by depositing tons of soil along the streets to hide the distinctly non-medieval tarmac. That was all well and good, but unfortunately there was an absolute downpour for several hours, resulting in several inches of mud outside peoples homes!
The most recent production was when cameras moved in again at the beginning of July 1996. This time, TV company Meridian took over Church Street to film "Emma", the latest adaptation of a Jane Austen novel.
The same producer who was involved with the successful adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" was again involved. Word is that the production was apparently originally intended for the BBC, like "Pride and Prejudice", but they were allegedly slow in coming up with the money and the end result is that "Emma" was seen on the ITV network.
The Church Street area was transformed over the weekend of 6th/7th July so that by the Monday evening it was the fictional Surrey village of Highbury in 1812! The crew started filming in the street on Tuesday 9th July and finished the following day with a night shoot up to 11pm!
Kate Beckinsale as Emma
The lead role of Emma was taken by Kate Beckinsale, daughter of the late Richard Beckinsale of BBC TV's "Porridge" fame and well known in her own right for her appearances on TV and in films such as "Much Ado about Nothing". There was also a strong supporting cast including Prunella Scales.
The talk among some of the extras on the set was all about a rival american film version which had just been completed (and has subsequently been released). This stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma together with a supporting cast which includes Greta Scacchi and Juliet Stevenson.
Meridian's TV version apparently took a total of six weeks to complete, with a finished product lasting two hours. As with Pride and Prejudice a video is available.
Copyright © 1996/2000 by
Hugh Collins
This Page Last Updated
06 January 2000