This unspoilt village stands at the gates of Lacock Abbey. There was a settlement here before Saxon times but Lacock first became important in the Middle Ages when a planned village was established for the estate workers of the abbey in the 13th century.
From the 14th to the 18th century the wool trade brought wealth to the village and the weekly market set up by Ela Countess of Salisbury, the founder of the abbey, added to its prosperity.
Lacock's location was ideal to take full advantage of this trade. The village is a day's journey from the fine grazing lands on the Cotswolds and Marlborough Downs, it is a staging post on the road connecting the wool trade centres in the West Country and has access to the sea via the River Avon.
The wool trade reached its height in the late Middle Ages but on its decline Lacock continued to prosper because of its position on the route between Marlborough and Bristol. Lacock, with its many inns, thrived as a staging post until the mid-18th century.
From this time, however, the village has stood still. The lack of development was mainly due to the Talbot family who owned the village. They ensured that no railway lines came near the village and thus the industrial revolution passed Lacock by.
Lacock is laid out around four main streets that form a square.
The irregular terraced houses that front the streets are built on narrow medieval plots.
Every century from the 13th to the 19th has contributed to the character of the village which includes timber-framed houses with jettied upper storeys and mullioned windows, 17th century stone cottages and fine brick-built Georgian mansions. Older gables and mullions are mixed with later cornices and sash windows.
The beautiful stone used for rubble building or ashlar comes from the local Corsham quarries. Roofs are predominantly of local stone tiles. Standing slightly apart from the village is the battlemented church of St Cyriac rebuilt in the 15th century at the height of Lacock's prosperity.
From the church a narrow lane leads to the 18th century pack-horse bridge over the Bide Brook and then across a fine medieval bridge over the River Avon.
The village also has a magnificent 14th century tithe barn with eight massive bays which would once have stored the rent paid to the abbey in kind: corn, hides and fleeces.
The unique character of Lacock is a result of its long association with the abbey. This was the last religious house in England to be suppressed at the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
The abbey was then acquired by Sir William Sharington, a Renaissance adventurer, who converted it into a private house.
The abbey and the greater part of the village subsequently passed into the ownership of the Talbot family. They carefully preserved the character of the village and in 1944 transferred the abbey and the village into the keeping of the National Trust.
The conservation of the village is a difficult task for the Trust. They are determined that Lacock should not be 'prettified' like many other Cotswold villages.
Television is piped into Lacock from a single well-recessed aerial on a near-by hillside therefore suppressing aerials and wires.
Upkeep of the old cottages and houses is expensive but the Trust has a set policy not to let them to 'outsiders' and the village remains as it was under the Talbots, a living village for local people.
Its diversity also makes Lacock one of the most architecturally distinguished and beautiful villages in the England.
Lacock Village Website
