I didn't; not enough time.
But next time I will.
Apart from the Medieval remains of the abbey itself you can explore the changes made when it was purchased by the Shadlington family and turned into a stately country house.
The abbey has lovely wooded grounds, and part of it is used as the Fox-Talbot museum. Fox-Talbot lived in Lacock Abbey and created the very first photographic negative.
Information about opening times, entrance fees etc on the National Trust website:
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-lacockabbeyvillage.htm
More information about Lacock Abbey on the Wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacock_Abbey
Updated Oct 27, 2010
Address: Lacock village
The village lock-up dates from the 1700s and is attached to the tithebarn.
It is what it says it is: a place where miscreants (or drunkards) could be locked up and safely kept overnight or until the next set of trials came around.
There's a bench bed and a hole in the corner to act as a toilet.
Most villages had a lock-up, but most are long gone. Lacock, of course, still has its own......though I don't think it is still used!
Written Oct 27, 2010
Address: East Street, attached to tithe barn
A lovely church, with some unusual Medieval painted stonework. Unusual because most of the paintwork in our ancient churches (and they were all painted in the past) was removed or painted over in the centuries following the Reformation (when England broke from the Catholic church).
Do take the time to go in, and wander round the exterior as well. There are some excellent Medieval gargoyles outside, as well as Medieval carving, tombs and brasses inside.
Written Oct 27, 2010
Address: Down East Street, turn right.
On the corner of the main street (a wide one, because Lacock was granted a market charter in Medieval times) stands a truly ancient tithe barn.
It's a lovely building, inevitably owned by the National Trust. There were originally three entrances (the one opening onto the market square has long been closed-up).
The barn was probably built set into the abbey walls (it belonged to the abbey), in dates from the 1300s. All the villagers were tenants of the abbey, and they paid their rent (their 'tithes') in the form of fleeces, corn and so on.....a set proportion according to how much land they farmed.
Although the barn has been restored, it looks little different to how it would have looked when it was first built and used.
Written Oct 27, 2010
Address: Corner of High Street and East Street
Lacock is a popular tourist destination and with Mad Max Tours, I had the chance to spend a couple of minutes there. If you walk through the streets of this village, you will see why it is so popular. The village seems still to be in a past century with only the cards and people reminding you of modern ages. That is also why parts of one of the Harry Potter movies were filmed here.
If there are not too many toursists, you can catch a feeling of how the village looked like a couple of centuries ago. Just try it out!
Written Sep 5, 2006
Take some time and stroll through the narrow little lanes and gaze upon mainly the old buildings. The construction styles date back a few centuries. I'm always amazed at how they can find artisans who can replicate and repair these old buildings in the original format.
Written Feb 14, 2006
This is a nice old restaurant (and there's rooms too) which serves very well cooked English food and vegetables. It all takes a long time though and you can't be in a hurry. Delicious and well presented. Quite pricey: a sunday roast entree was about £12-17. Great for a special occasion, and ye olde English charm. They will give smaller portions for children. bring something to do for kids, rather formal atmosphere makes them fidget!
Favorite Dish: I had the roast lamb with mint and lemon stuffing which came with all trimmings, the veg was gorgeous and the lamb perfectly cooked. the citrus cheesecake was all right but the passionfruit sorbet that came with it was my highlight.
Written Aug 22, 2006
Address: Church Street, Lacock, Wiltshire SN15 2LB
Phone: 01249 730 230
Website: http://www.lacock.co.uk/index.html
With our stomachs growling on a late Sunday morning we eagerly searched for a place to have brunch. After scowering Chippinham for a suitable place we retired to Lacock and found The Red Lion. One can't miss it as it is one of two hotels in the village. I think the place also doubles as a B&B but apparently everyone else had finished their breakfasts as we were the sole customers.
Found the place to be interesting especially the archiatecture. Low ceilings and dark wood beams held the whole place up. Service was fine and the good was tasty and well prepared.
Favorite Dish: Pretty standard fare, eggs, sausages, toast, etc. Nothing to crow about but pretty traditional.
We enjoyed our visit
Written Feb 14, 2006
Address: High Street, Lacock, Wiltshire, SN15 2LQ,
Phone: tel: 01249 730456
Website: http://www.specialplacestostay.com/search/display.php?FileID=bh3213
Lacock is far away from any larger city so that it is difficult to get there by public transport. So a good way to see Lacock together with a couple of other interesting places is Mad Max tours from Bath. The offer consisted of a full day tour for 25.00 pounds, bringing you to Stonehenge, Avebury, Lacock and Castle Combe. The driver was very friendly and rpovided us with background facts about every destination.
The big advantage of this tour was time saving. As all of these destinations are far away from everything, it is impossible to visit all of them within a day depending on public transport only. Unfortunately, there's only one hour for Lacock which makes it impossible to enjoy the streets of the village, do the proposed Lunch break and visit the Talbot museum which seemed to be interesting.
Written Sep 5, 2006
Website: http://www.madmax.abel.co.uk/
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