About Lacock in Chippenham

, Wiltshire

Lacock is a village in the civil parish of Lacock and the county town of Wiltshire, England. The village is situated on the River Avon, about 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Chippenham and 8 miles (12.9 km) northwest of Melksham. The 2011 census recorded a parish population of 990.

Lacock Abbey, founded in the 13th century by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, was a nunnery until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century when it became the property of Sir William Sharington. The abbey church, now Lacock Parish Church, was largely rebuilt in the Gothic style in the late 15th century. The east range of the cloisters and other monastic buildings were converted into Lacock Manor for Sharington's use.

The medieval manor house of Lacock Court was rebuilt in brick in 1632 by Charles I's daughter Mary, Countess Rivers to designs by Inigo Jones. The house was owned by Fox Talbot from 1839 to 1876; he made significant changes to the building and grounds and developed his early photographic experiments there. The Talbot family sold the estate to the National Trust in 1944; it is now open to the public.

Lacock has two main streets lined with cottages, shops and public houses, many of which date from the 16th and 17th centuries. It is a conservation area and many of the buildings are Grade I or II* listed; they include a medieval timber-framed hall house, an early 18th-century coaching inn and a number of 15th-century cottages.