Lacock Abbey

From Avebury we headed generally north, with three great houses and gardens to see along the Bristol Channel. The first was Lacock Abbey, which I thought would be a quick stop, half a dozen pix, done. Lacock Abbey goes back to the 13th century, however, a wealthy womens' residence really (while spouses were off crusading, warring, plundering, whatever), then, after the Dissolution, a wealthy man's Renaissance  manor and residence, then a George/Victorian residence. But wait, there's more. Among the latter owners was William Henry Fox Talbot, one of the 19th century inventors of photography, so there's a good little museum on the development of photography there; and still more. When the Trust got Lacock, the whole village evidently was included, so you've got that to account for too, including an interesting old Medieval parish church. Did I mention that two of the Harry Poppins movies were filmed in part at Lacock? So there is really a great deal going on at Lacock despite the fact that it is hardly one of greatest houses.

Main entrance to present-day Lacock Abbey

Artsy-fartsy interpretation

In the original abbey part; this was possibly Professor Snapes'
classroom

On the hall in the cloister, bosses still polychromed

Peephole in the staircase to the abbess'
rooms, so she could keep an eye on things

Original Medieval floor tiles

Possibly Professor Snapes' classroom; or someone else's

This is absolutely all that Warner Bros. will let the Trust say
about Harry Potter

Back on the cloister, a pretty day

Moving right along from Medieval-land through Fantasy-land
to Victorian-land...did you know that in the later 19th century
England you could mail eggs? Now you have to use Federal
Express special handling, etc.

In the nursery

Flashing back to Lord Sharrington's tower and study...1600s

Murano glass chandelier in the Victorian long hall

Now in the much earlier Gothic Hall

Including Gandalf saying "I have no memory
of this place"

Fox Talbot, among the Victorians who
redefined "Renaissance Man": astronomer,
mathematician, Fellow of the Royal Society,
chemist, linguist (he was one of the few who
could read cuneiform; won honors in his
Cambridge class for translating Macbeth into
iambic classical Greek)

His contributions to photography included getting an image
deposited on a chemically-treated piece of paper, and his
"mousetrap" camera (the little box on the table); and writing
and publishing the first book to include photographs, The
Pencil of Nature