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Lacock Abbey

Historic residence · Lacock, England

Scientists & inventors

Lacock Abbey
Photo: Jürgen Matern, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

History

Lacock Abbey is a country house in the village of Lacock, Wiltshire, England. There was an abbey of nuns on the site until 1539, and the house is a remodelling and extension of the abbey's cloister court. The Grade I listed building is owned by the National Trust and is notable as the site of Henry Fox Talbot's pioneering work in photography in the 1830s.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Lacock Abbey”, CC BY-SA 4.0.

About William Henry Fox Talbot

William Henry Fox Talbot was an English scientist, inventor, and photography pioneer who invented the salted paper and calotype processes, precursors to photographic processes of the later 19th and 20th centuries. His work in the 1840s on photomechanical reproduction led to the creation of the photoglyphic engraving process, the precursor to photogravure. He was the holder of a controversial patent that affected the early development of commercial photography in Britain. He was also a noted photographer who contributed to the development of photography as an artistic medium. He published The Pencil of Nature (1844–1846), which was illustrated with original salted paper prints from his calotype negatives and made some important early photographs of Oxford, Paris, Reading, and York.

From the Wikipedia article “William Henry Fox Talbot”, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Visiting

This building is recorded as a residence of the people listed; it may be privately owned and not open to the public. Opening times, tickets and access change, so check the official website before you travel. Get directions.

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