Lacock, Medieval village in Wiltshire, England
Lacock is a community in Wiltshire, England, where streets have remained largely unaltered for centuries. Buildings cluster around a central area where four roads meet, forming paths to residential homes and communal structures.
The settlement began in Saxon times along the banks of Bide Brook, when people started living near the water source. A convent was founded in 1232 by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, as a community for Augustinian nuns and shaped the area's development afterward.
The settlement's name derives from Old English words referring to the small stream that runs through it. Several houses still display hand-painted trade signs from the 19th century, showing the occupations of their former residents.
Walking through the streets allows you to observe architecture and local shops without time constraints. Main routes are easy to navigate on foot, and information boards at several points help with orientation around the settlement.
William Henry Fox Talbot carried out his first experiments with light-sensitive paper here in the 1830s, contributing to the birth of modern photography. A small museum now displays equipment and images from this early period of photographic technique.
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