Lacock Abbey

The abbey was founded in the early 13th century by Ela, Duchess of Salisbury, during the reign of King Henry III. Her husband was William de Longspee, 3rd Earl of Salisbury and an illegitimate son of King Henry II. The abbey flourished economically, supported by farmland provided by Ela of Salisbury and through the wool trade. During the dissolution of the monasteries in the mid-16th century, Sir William Sharrington acquired the estate from King Henry VIII. In 1539, he converted it into a residence, demolishing the abbey church while largely preserving other monastic buildings. Thus, the cloister remains beneath the living quarters to this day. The building underwent further alterations, including a Renaissance tower. In the 1750s, when it belonged to John Ivory Talbot, it was rebuilt in the Gothic Revival style under the direction of architect Sanderson Miller.