Hotels Near Lacock Abbey

Places To Stay Near Lacock Abbey

After a busy day exploring everything Lacock Abbey has to offer, our range of nearby boutique hotels are the perfect place to stay the night with cosy beds, family rooms, and excellent breakfasts.

The Methuen Arms

Just like Lacock Abbey, The Methuen Arms in Corsham started life as a nunnery, before being converted into a brewery and coaching inn in 1608. The inn offers 19 newly-renovated bedrooms, a mouth-watering food menu created with ingredients sourced from its kitchen garden, and a cosy bar area and spacious beer garden perfect for enjoying the inn’s range of hand-pulled ales.

The Horse & Groom

The Horse & Groom is a grade II-listed inn nestled in the pretty village of Charlton. Featuring five charming, boutique bedrooms, a delicious menu of seasonal dishes and an impressive selection of award-winning Butcombe beers, the Horse & Groom has everything you need for a relaxing home-from-home stayaway.

The Quarryman’s Arms

Located in picturesque Box Hill, The Quarrymans Arms is a gorgeous country inn boasting sweeping views of the Box Valley. The inn offers the perfect boutique getaway with four, flawlessly-decorated bedrooms, a delicious restaurant serving the finest, local seasonal produce, and a fantastic selection of ales, craft beers, local ciders and fine wines to get stuck into.

The King’s Arms

The King’s Arms is a charming 18th-century inn set in the heart of Melksham. Featuring 13 modern, comfy bedrooms, a tasty food menu offering exciting takes on pub classics and an array of award-winning Butcombe beers behind the bar, The King’s Arms is the perfect option for a boutique stayaway.

The White Hart

Situated in the heart of picturesque Wroughton, The White Hart is a beautiful thatched pub and inn. With 10 beautifully-decorated bedrooms, a tasty food menu crafted with locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients, and a stunning range of Butcombe beers to sample, this characterful inn has everything you need for a restorative break away.

A brief history of Lacock Abbey

Dating back to the early 13th century, Lacock Abbey originally began life as a nunnery, before the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII in the mid-16th century saw it converted into a family home.

The Abbey continued to change hands throughout the years, eventually becoming the residence of William Henry Fox Talbot during the 19th century, who made history when he captured the world’s first photographic negative in the building’s South Gallery, giving the Abbey its name as the ‘birthplace of modern photography’.

Today, Lacock Abbey has a Grade I-listed status and is maintained by the National Trust, after being gifted to the charity in 1944.

What To See At Lacock Abbey

As a result of its varied history, Lacock Abbey is an unusual mix of architectural styles. Visitors can explore its medieval cloisters, chapter house, sacristy and warming house for a glimpse into its monastic past, and spot the additions made by later private owners, including the Renaissance-inspired octagonal tower, and Gothic-inspired entrance arch and Great Hall.

The Fox Talbot Museum, located on the Abbey’s ground floor, offers an opportunity to learn about the life and achievements of former resident and photography pioneer William Henry Fox Talbot, with the floor above housing a rotating exhibition of contemporary photography throughout the year.

A trip to the Abbey wouldn’t be complete without a relaxed walk through its beautiful wooded grounds, and for those with time to spare, there’s lots to discover in the surrounding village of Lacock, with its quaint cottages, medieval tithe barn, old lock-up and plethora of interesting shops.

Lacock Abbey on screen

Over the years, both the Abbey and the surrounding village of Lacock have been chosen as the backdrop for countless television and film productions, including Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Pride and Prejudice and Downton Abbey.

Lacock Abbey and Harry Potter

Of all the productions to pass through Lacock Abbey over the years, perhaps none is better known than Harry Potter. Standing in as Hogwarts for three of the franchise’s films, the Abbey has become a site of pilgrimage for Potterheads across the world. Famous filming locations include:

• The Abbey’s cloisters, instantly recognisable as Hogwarts’ corridors in the Philosophers Stone and the Chamber of Secrets
• The Warming Room, which was magicked into Professor Quirrel’s Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom in the Philosopher’s Stone
• The Sacristy Room, which stood in as Professor Snape’s Potions Classroom in the Philosopher’s Stone
• The Chapter House, aka the room where Harry first discovers the Mirror of Erised in the Philosopher’s Stone, and the study hall where Harry listens in on his fellow students debating whether he’s the heir of Slytherin in Chamber of Secrets!

Lacock Abbey and Pride and Prejudice

For its TV mini-series adaptation of Jane Austen’s enduring novel, the BBC chose Lacock Abbey for some of their Pemberley interiors, as well as for flashback scenes of Mr Darcy’s time at Cambridge University!

Lacock and Downton Abbey

Surrounding the Abbey, the village of Lacock has starred not once, but twice in the acclaimed period drama Downton Abbey. The first time was in 2015, when one of the quaint village’s streets was transformed into a 1920s livestock market complete with sheep, pigs and a 1-tonne long-horned bull, and the second time in 2018 when the crew returned to shoot scenes for the Downton Abbey movie, with its streets setting the scene for a spectacular royal parade featuring real-life Lacock residents dressed in period-accurate costumes!

See pictures of Lacock Abbey here.