Photo: Jürgen Matern / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)
About this place
Founded in 1232 as an Augustinian nunnery, Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire has had a varied life across eight centuries.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Henry VIII sold it to William Sharington, who converted the buildings into a country house while preserving much of the medieval cloister.
The National Trust has managed the property since 1944.
The abbey is also home to the Fox Talbot Museum, which marks the site where William Henry Fox Talbot made some of his earliest photographic experiments in the 1830s.
Plan your visit
Open year-round with seasonal variations; check the National Trust website for specific dates and times.