Lacock

Lacock was another stop on our whirlwind tour of Stonehenge, Avebury, and Castle Combe. It is another small village in Wiltshire. It is owned almost in its entirety by the National Trust.

On the way to Lacock, we drive past Lacock Abbey. This abbey was founded in the early 13th century, and became a private residence after the Dissolution of the Monesteries in the mid 16th century.
The window in the front of the home was the location of the first known photograph in 1835 - this is what our guide told us, but I'm having a hard time corroborating it through the interwebs. Either way, there have been other movies that used part of the Abbey for filming, most notably Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (the scene where Harry frees Dobby), as well as in the 2008 version of the Other Boleyn Girl.

Lacock itself has been used several times as a film set. The BBC used the village during the production of Pride and Prejudice, as well as in Cranford. It has also appeared in some of the Harry Potter films.

The village itself dates back to the 13th century and had a thriving wool industry during the middle ages. Most of the buildings in the village date from the 18th century or earlier.

The tithe barn here dates from the 14th century. Prior to the dissolution of the monasteries this tithe barn was attached to Lacock Abbey. A tithe barn is a type of barn used to store the tithes - a tenth of the farm's produce which had to be given to the church.

This is the Church of St. Cyriac in Lacock. According to the website, it is possible that there was a small Saxon church on the location there is definitive proof that a Norman Church was building towards the end of the 11th century. In the 14th century there was some rebuilding of the church, remains of which can be seen int eh lower part of the tower and some decordated tracery in the north transept window.

In 1604 the recessed octagonal tower was either built of rebuilt. A little later the south annex was built.


The paint colors on the ceiling and columns were beautiful - and quite bright, considering how old they are.





This church also had some of the best gargoyles - some silly, some strange, and that odd dog up there - we couldn't make out what he was chewing on.
I thought that this was the most obscure and interesting looking house - it looks as though it just juts out of nowhere.

Onwards on our tour we happened upon this unusual street sign. Apparently there is a tank-military training ground nearby and yes, watch our for tank crossing. Quite a strange sign to see in the middle of the Cotswolds...

Okay, next stop is Avebury Stone Circle!