Contiguous Parishes (our neighbours)
Chippenham - Chittoe - Corsham - Melksham - Derry Hill with Pewsham
Websites
GenUKI - For information on Lacock
Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre - The Wiltshire County Archives for all historical documents and the place to obtain original copies
Wiltshire Community History - Historical information for parishes within the Wiltshire County jurisdiction.
The Parish Church of St. Cyriac
Monumental Inscriptions Inside St. Cyriac Confirmations 1865-1874 St. Cyriacs Sell Silver Chalice 2013
Parish Registers held at WSHC
Baptisms 1559-1935
Marriages 1559-2000
Burials 1559-1989
BTs 1838-1879 held at Bristol Record Office
Parish History
The parish includes Bowden Hill and its church St. Anne's. It also includes the hamlet of Notton.
Lacock is a very pretty village. Its olde worlde charm has attracted many TV and film crews to to use the period buildings as backdrops for adaptations of historical novels such as those written by Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy. The Abbey was also the location for the first Harry Potter film.
The world's first ever photograph, of the oriel window in the Abbey's library, was taken here by William Fox Talbot in 1835.
An Augustinian nunnery was founded at Lacock where the parish church now stands. The usual array of chapels east of the transept includes, on the north side, a fine mid 15th century structure, beautifully vaulted and finished externally with elaborate battlements and pinnacles. The carving on the tomb of the grantee of the Abbey, Sir William Sharrington who died in 1553, is said to represent the finest example of its period in the country. It is doubtless due to its monastic associations that Lacock church is so plentifully embellished with medieval carved grotesques.
Civil Registration
1837 - Present Chippenham Registration District
Buildings and Land
| Notice of Intended Construction of the Wilts & Berks Canal 1793 | Corsham Turnpike Notices 1846 | Ray Mill Celebrations 1870 |
| Owners of Land 1873 |
Lacock Abbey
Nuns and their Pensions 1539 Annals and Antiquities of Lacock Abbey 1835 Description of Lacock Abbey 1968
Lacock Cemetery
Lacock Cemetery Memorial Stones Gallery Lacock Cemetery Survey
Maps
Ordnance Surveyor's Drawings 1808-1811
Public Houses
George Inn
Lacock is also one of England's loveliest villages, and was already established when Ela, Countess of Salisbury, founded the Abbey in 1232. Fox Talbot, the pioneer of photography, lived at the Abbey, and it was Miss Matilda Talbot who presented the Abbey and much of the village to the National Trust in 1944. The outstanding feature of the 14th century inn is the dogspit, this being the only one of its kind still in its original position. The inn's license dates from 1361, and it is thought to be the oldest continuously licensed inn in the country.
Crime and Legal Matters
| Crime Reports 1800-1849 | Inmates of Gloucester Gaol 1815-1879 | Horses, Drink & Embezzlement 1860 |
| Prison Sentence for Breaking and Entering 1931 |
Directories
Slaters 1852-1853 Kellys 1915 Swindon and District 1928
Education
School Scarecrow Trail Fundraiser 2014
Emigration and Migration
Employment and Business
Agriculture
Aspects of the Life of the Wiltshire Agricultural Labourer c1850
Apprentices
Apprentice records published here may not necessarily mean that the apprentice was from the parish but was apprenticed to a master within the parish.
Andrew Baker 1728 William Banks 1717 Robert Bennett 1716 Thomas Billett 1729
Wiltshire Society Apprentices
Aviation
Aviation Certificate for Henry Armstrong 1939
Communications
British Postal Service Appointments 1737-1969
Medical Matters
General Medical Council Registration 1859-1959
Miscellaneous Documents
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
St. Anne's, Bowden Hill (see Tab Below)
People and Parish Notables
| David Cerington 1433 | Residents Mentioned in Kilvert's Diary 1870-1879 | St. John Ambulance Fete and Prize Giving 1950 |
| Parish Residents of the Early 20th Century | Pigeon Racing Annual Awards 1956 |
Census Returns Transcripts
Election and Polls
Poll of Freeholders 1772 Poll Book 1818 Voters List 1832 Voters Lists Revisions 1843 MP Nominations 2015 MP Nominations 2017
Entertainment
Parrots of Lacock
When the sun shines it is no surprise for some visitors to think they have found themselves transported to a surreal part of the Amazon Rain Forest whilst taking in the sites in and around Lacock Abbey. For several years visitors have been able to meet Dave Vickery and his parrots which he regularly takes for walks within the grounds and cloisters of the Abbey. Dave and his parrots who I am assured are a family have become somewhat a visitor attraction with the parrots gaining much attention from curious tourists as the wander around taking in the sights made famous by William Henry Fox Talbot and his new invention of photography. To read more about Dave, Kenny, Ollie, Phoebe, Sydney and of course Mum follow the Parrotland Website
Family Notices
Family Notices 1800-1849 Family Notices 1850-1899
Inquest Reports
William Coombs 1851 Charles Gough 1846 Ellen Millsome 1855 Child of Charles Pegler 1869
Personal Research Items
Tuck Family Research Burial Extracts - This item was donated by Ken Tuck and contains entries that may or may not relate to the Tuck family however they have been published as such. Many refer to Quaker burials found across the county
Parish Notables
Sybil Lethbridge, Author William Henry Fox Talbot, Inventor and Photographer, 1800-1877
Taxes
Poor Law, Charity and the Workhouse
Probate
Parishioners Wills
War, Conflict and Military Matters
Servicemen and Women
Chelsea Pensioners 1808-1828 Servicemen & Families with 1st Wilts Regt. in South Africa 1911
Uncategorised Military Items
War Memorials and Books of Remembrance
Calne & District Casualty Lists 1914-1918
Acknowledgments
Grateful thanks are expressed to Ruth Ranger the former OPC for this parish who supplied many items of interest and photographs for this page
Sincere thanks to Lynne and Paul Powell who very kindly donated their photographs of the headstones in the churchyard
