Editing Lacock

{{Short description|Village in Wiltshire, England}}
{{About|the village in England}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox UK place
| static_image_name = Lacock UK-High Street.jpeg
| static_image_caption = High Street, Lacock
| country = England
| official_name = Lacock
| population = 1,159
| population_ref = (in 2011)<ref>{{cite web|title=Wiltshire Community History – Census|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Census?communityId=132|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=24 March 2022}}</ref>
| population_density_sqmi =
| unitary_england = [[Wiltshire (district)|Wiltshire]]
| lieutenancy_england = [[Wiltshire]]
| region = South West England
| constituency_westminster = [[Chippenham (UK Parliament constituency)|Chippenham]]
| os_grid_reference = ST915685
| coordinates = {{coord|51.415|-2.123|type:city(2000)_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| post_town = CHIPPENHAM
| postcode_district = SN15
| postcode_area = SN
| dial_code = 01249
| website = {{URL|https://www.lacockparishcouncil.gov.uk/|Parish Council}}
}}

'''Lacock''' is a village and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the county of [[Wiltshire]], England, about 3&nbsp;miles (5&nbsp;km) south of the town of [[Chippenham]], and about {{convert|3.7|mi|km}} outside the [[Cotswolds]] area. The village is owned almost in its entirety by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] and attracts many visitors by virtue of its unspoiled appearance.

The parish includes [[Bowden Hill]], a small village {{convert|1|mile|km}} to the east of Lacock, and the hamlets of [[Bewley Common]], '''Notton''' and '''Reybridge'''. The [[Chippenham]]–[[Melksham]] section of the [[A350 road|A350]] primary route crosses the parish from north to south, as does the [[River Avon, Bristol|River Avon]].

A scarecrow festival is held annually in Lacock and is popular with visitors from the local area. All funds raised are donated to Lacock Primary School.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/articles/2006/03/25/lacock_scarecrow_fest_06_feature.shtml|title=Lacock Scarecrow Festival|date=25 March 2006|website=BBC Local: Wiltshire|access-date=10 February 2017}}</ref>

==History==
{{main|History of Lacock}}
Lacock is mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, with a population of 160–190; with two mills and a vineyard. [[Lacock Abbey]] was founded on the manorial lands by [[Ela of Salisbury, 3rd Countess of Salisbury|Ela, Countess of Salisbury]] and established in 1232; and the village – with the manor – formed its endowment to "God and St Mary". Lacock was granted a market and developed a thriving woollen industry during the [[Middle Ages]]. Reybridge, and a [[packhorse]] ford, remained the only crossing points of the [[River Avon, Bristol|River Avon]] until the 18th century.<ref name="wch">{{cite web|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Community/Index/132|title=Lacock|website=Wiltshire Community History|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref>

At the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolution]], the Abbey and estate, including the village, were sold to [[William Sharington]], later passing into the Talbot family by marriage.<ref name="wch" /> The Lacock estate was home to photography pioneer [[Henry Fox Talbot]] from 1800 to 1877.

In 1916 Henry Fox Talbot's son Charles bequeathed the Lacock estate to his niece, Matilda Gilchrist-Clark, who took the name of Talbot. The estate – comprising {{convert|284|acre|km2}}, the Abbey and the village – was given to the National Trust in 1944 by Matilda Talbot.<ref name="wch" /> Lacock has three public houses and a number of shops in its High Street including a grocery store, a bakery, gift shops and a National Trust shop.

== Notable buildings and structures ==
Most of the surviving houses in the village are 18th century or earlier in construction. Lacock Abbey, the 14th-century [[St Cyriac's Church, Lacock|St Cyriac's Church]] and a 14th-century [[tithe barn]]<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1198376|desc=Tithe Barn at Manor Farm|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref> are [[Listed building#Categories of listed building|Grade I listed]]. Elsewhere in the parish, the [[English country house|country houses]] at [[Bewley Common|Bewley Court]] (14th century, restored 1920)<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1363958|desc=Bewley Court|access-date=11 December 2017|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> and [[Bowden Park]] (1796)<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1022132|desc=Bowden Park|access-date=11 December 2017|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> are also Grade I listed.

[[File:The Church of St Cyriac.tif|thumb|left|Church of St Cyriac, Lacock was established in the late 11th century]]
There are four Grade II* listed structures: The Sign of the Angel (late 15th-century house, now an inn);<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1198180|desc=The Sign of the Angel|access-date=11 December 2017|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> a village cross (late medieval, re-erected outside the school in the late 19th century);<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1363937|desc=Village Cross|access-date=11 December 2017|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> a pair of bridges carrying the Bowden Hill road over the Avon (late medieval, 17th and 19th century);<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1022127|desc=Lacock Bridge|access-date=11 December 2017|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> and a 16th-century [[Aqueduct (water supply)|conduit house]], part of the abbey's water supply, opposite Bowden Hill church.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1363959|desc=The Conduit House|access-date=11 December 2017|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> Next to the tithe barn is a small [[Village lock-up|lock-up]] from the late 18th century.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1022162|desc=The Lock Up|access-date=11 December 2017|fewer-links=yes}}</ref>

[[Ray Mill House]], north of the village on the left bank of the Avon beyond Reybridge, is a country house built in [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] style around 1860.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1198630|desc=Rey Mill House|access-date=23 January 2024|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> Since 1996 it has been a residence of Camilla Parker Bowles, later [[Queen Camilla]].<ref name="Gavaghan">{{cite news |last1=Gavaghan |first1=Beth |date=22 September 2022 |title=Camilla's Wiltshire mansion: will she keep hold of it? |url=https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/22315312.camillas-wiltshire-mansion-will-keep-hold/ |access-date=22 January 2024 |work=Wiltshire Times}}</ref>

Further north and also overlooking the Avon, Lackham House was built in 1791–1796 for [[James Montagu (Royal Navy officer)|James Montagu]], naval officer. It is a three-storey country house in [[Palladian architecture|Palladian]] style.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1363942|desc=Lackham House|access-date=18 December 2017|fewer-links=yes}}</ref>
{{clear}}

== Education ==
A school was provided on a central site in Lacock village by [[Henry Fox Talbot]] in 1824, with accommodation for 100 pupils. Another classroom was added in 1852 and around this time it became a [[National school (England and Wales)|National School]]; by 1858 there were about 120 pupils. The school was rebuilt on the same site in 1859, again at the expense of the Talbot family, for 220 pupils and 80 infants. Numbers declined in the 20th century; 135 attended in 1955 when the school gained [[Voluntary controlled school|voluntary controlled]] status. Children of all ages were educated until the early 1960s when older pupils were transferred to Chippenham.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/School/Details/773|title=Lacock Church of England Primary School|website=Wiltshire Community History|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=18 December 2017}}</ref>

Since 1946 there has been an agricultural college at the Lackham estate, in the north of the parish towards Chippenham. With its {{Convert|400|acre||adj=on}} farm it is now part of [[Wiltshire College]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/articles/2006/07/24/timeline_lackham_feature.shtml|title=Wiltshire College Lackham celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2006|last=Misson|first=Jill|date=29 October 2014|website=BBC Wiltshire|access-date=18 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=7 October 2015 |title=Wiltshire College and its precursors |url=https://wshc.org.uk/lacock/lacock-unlocked/places/item/wiltshire-college-and-its-precursors.html |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=[[Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre]]}}</ref>

== Filming location ==
The village has been used as a film and television location, notably for the 1995 [[BBC]] production of ''[[Pride and Prejudice (1995 TV serial)|Pride and Prejudice]]'' and the 2007 BBC production of ''[[Cranford (2007 TV series)|Cranford]]''. It also made brief appearances in the [[Harry Potter (film series)|''Harry Potter'' films]] ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'' and ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]],'' and in the spin-off film ''[[Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald]].'' In the spring of 2012, it was a filming location for the fantasy adventure film ''[[Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box]]''.

In 2015, Lacock was used for an episode of the ''[[Downton Abbey]]'' TV series, portraying a livestock market of the 1920s; Lord Grantham, his family and some of the staff appeared in this location. Not long after, the village was featured in two episodes of the [[Wolf Hall (TV series)|''Wolf Hall'']] series, based on the novels by [[Hilary Mantel]].<ref name="screen">{{cite web |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lacock-abbey-fox-talbot-museum-and-village/features/lacock-on-screen |title=Lacock on screen |website=National Trust |access-date=August 29, 2021 |quote=}}</ref> Scenes for the 2017 film [[Beauty and the Beast (2017 film)|''Beauty and the Beast'']] were shot here, and in late 2018, scenes for the film version of [[Downton Abbey (film)|''Downton Abbey'']] included a royal parade;<ref name="screen" /> the film was released in September 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/16952909.lacock-transformed-for-downton-movie-filming/|title=Downton stars return to Lacock for movie filming|last=Moore|first=Joanne|date=1 October 2018|website=The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald|language=en|access-date=15 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=20 January 2021|title=Harry Potter village flooded with tourists despite COVID lockdown|url=https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/harry-potter-village-busy-as-summer-despite-covid-lockdown-125822311.html|url-status=|access-date=2021-02-11|website=uk.movies.yahoo.com|language=en-GB}}</ref>

The village was also used for the music video for the song I Believe (In Love), a 1971 hit for the British band Hot Chocolate.

== Notable people ==
Lacock was the childhood home of [[Zoella|Zoe Sugg]] and [[Joe Sugg]], siblings who both run [[YouTube]] channels.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.lacockparishcouncil.gov.uk/ Lacock Parish Council]
* [https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lacock-abbey-fox-talbot-museum-and-village Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and village information] – National Trust
* [https://www.corshamandlacockchurches.org.uk/ Corsham and Lacock Churches]
* [https://wshc.org.uk/lacock/lacock-unlocked.html Lacock Unlocked project]
* [https://www.wiltshire.ac.uk/the-college/our-campuses/lackham-campus/lackham-house History of Lackham] – Wiltshire College

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:National Trust properties in Wiltshire]]