Lacock Abbey & Village

Appeared in: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Vocabulary Meaning

Quaint Something that is old-fashioned but very attractive. Medieval This refers to the middle ages. A time from the 5th to the 15th century. Picturesque Something that is very beautiful and perfect for taking photos. Historic Something that has a long and important history. Inventors An ‘inventor’ is someone who creates new things. Setting A ‘setting’ is where an event takes place. Such as where something is filmed. Numerous This means ‘many’ of something. Scenes One part or section of the movie. Follow in the footsteps of… If you ‘follow in the footsteps of someone’, you do the same as they did. Authentic Something that is genuine and real. Backdrop The backdrop is the background to something. If you say was the backdrop, it was the background in the movie. A Gem If you describe a place as a ‘gem’, it is well worth taking the time to go and see it.

Creator: Patrick Simon McMahon Contact: [email protected]

Introduction: Lacock village & Abbey

The lovely, quaint, medieval village of Lacock in , is the location of the picturesque 13th- century . A historic place, which was the home of William Fox-Talbot, one of the inventors of modern photography. The Abbey was also the setting for numerous scenes at Hogwarts School.

Here, you can follow in the footsteps of the stars as the village is a favourite for film and TV locations for its authentic historical backdrop, picturesque streets and historic cottages, which are untouched by modern life. The village’s most famous appearances include 'Downton Abbey', 'Pride and Prejudice', and of course, ‘Harry Potter’.

So, where exactly did they film Harry Potter? See below for some of the Harry Potter’s gems around the village.

Creator: Patrick Simon McMahon Contact: [email protected]

Lacock Abbey

Vocabulary Meaning

Take a stroll Take a relaxing walk. Corridors A long walkway / passage which has doors that lead into rooms. Dating back to... This means when something began / started. Pioneered the idea If you ‘pioneer’ an idea, you are the first, or one of the first to do it. Discover To find out something new. Stunning Amazing. Cloisters A covered stone pathway usually found in buildings such as Cathedrals and churches that has four sides surrounding a courtyard. A courtyard is an open space usually surrounding by four walls. Please see photo. Wandering If you are ‘wandering around’, you are walking around but with no plan on where you are going. Invisibility cloak A ‘cloak’ is something you wear. If it is an ‘invisibility cloak’, when you wear it no one can see you. Most notably for... Most recognisable for… / Most famous for… Exploring To go somewhere new and find out new things. To put yourself in Harry’s shoes To imagine yourself as someone else so you can see how they see things. So, if you put yourself in the shoes of Harry Potter, you imagine yourself as him so you can see how he saw and experienced things.

Creator: Patrick Simon McMahon Contact: [email protected]

If you do go to Lacock, I suggest taking a stroll to Lacock Abbey, used as Hogwarts’ Corridors, which is a beautiful historical building dating back to the 13th century.

It is believed by some to be the birthplace of modern photography as it was on this very spot that William Henry Fox Talbot (see photo on the left) pioneered the idea of using photographic negatives to produce multiple prints on paper. So, it’s not just the magic of Harry Potter that you can discover in this wonderful place!

You can also admire the stunning cloisters where they filmed several scenes for Hogwarts’ corridors, including the scene in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone when McGonagall takes Harry over to meet Oliver Wood because she’s so impressed with his broom techniques and wants him to join the Quidditch team. And the scene where Harry is wandering the corridors in his invisibility cloak and just escapes being “seen” by Snape.

In Chamber of Secrets, the Lacock Abbey cloisters also appear as Hogwarts’ corridors, most notably for the night scenes.

Creator: Patrick Simon McMahon Contact: [email protected]

The Warming Room The Sacristy

After exploring the stunning cloisters, you can take a stroll to the Lacock Abbey Warming Room, which was used as Professor Quirrell’s classroom. Back in the 13th century, this was the only room in the Abbey where a fire could be used to keep warm. Giving the reason why it’s called the Warming room.

The warming room was used to film Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom scenes in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which was the only film in which they filmed this classroom on location.

In addition, fans of Snape will be excited to know that Snape’s Potions Classroom from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was filmed at Lacock Abbey, mainly in the ‘Sacristy’.

Please be aware that this classroom will look very different in real life when compared to the movies. The Sacristy at Lacock Abbey is actually not underground as the Potions Classroom in the movie is meant to be. Therefore, for the movie, they decided to cover the windows up to create the affect that it was half underground. This means the real-life location looks far less darker and scarier than in the films. So, you have to use your imagination if you want to put yourself in Harry’s shoes.

Creator: Patrick Simon McMahon Contact: [email protected]

Summary

Vocabulary Meaning

Full to the brim If something is ‘full to the brim’ of something, it is full, has many of what you are talking about. So, ‘full to the brim of attractions’, means many attractions. Soak up [something] To enjoy something. If you say, ‘to soak up the atmosphere’, it means to enjoy the atmosphere. Quintessential The most perfect or typical example of something.

I could go on forever as this place is full to the brim of Harry Potter locations. However, I will leave the rest for you to come and discover yourself. So, make sure you give plenty of time to locate them all and soak up the atmosphere of this quintessential English village.

For more information on Lacock please check out this link.

Link: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lacock-abbey-fox-talbot-museum-and-village/features/a- historic-village-with-a-modern-community

Let the journey of discovery begin

Creator: Patrick Simon McMahon Contact: [email protected]