Is the Fox Talbot Museum at Lacock Abbey open? Worth to visit?

[lungovw]

I am going to Bièvres this year (7/8th June) and would love to combine that with a visit to Fox Talbot Museum. But its website, managed by the National Trust, seems to be down. I can't get an idea whether it worth a visit or not, do they have a nice collection? a library? a comprehensive view of Talbot's work? Actually I can't even be sure that it is open for visitors. Any local/inside information about it?

[mpirie]

Seems to be working now: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wiltshire/lacock

Mike

[lungovw]

This link gives me the following screen:

258261

[pgk]

Many years ago I lived a couple of miles from Lacock. If I remember correctly the Fox Talbot museum is in the old Tithe Barn near the gates of the Abbey itself. Last time I visited, which is a few years ago now, it was interesting enough, but somewhat underwhelmed me as ever. The 'problem' was that whilst it had some interesting material it was not really as coherent nor as specific to Fox Talbot as I felt it needed to be. I don't think that there is a library and when I visted there was an astronomy photographic exhibition upstairs which was nice but had little to do with Fox Talbot! The way material is displayed may have changed of course, but the National Trust is very dependant on the people it employs as experts to curate such museums and in my experience this can be a bit hit and miss. It might well be worth visting some other photographic websites to see if you can get more up to date infomation on how it is now before journeying to Lacock without knowing what people think of it.

[lungovw]

Well, thank you pgk. I am now more inclined to pick another place to go. Furthermore, I did some research and it seems like the National Trust in undergoing a sort of crisis: https://www.gbnews.com/news/national-trust-prices-woke-gb-news-rant

[Louie Powell]

Wife and I were in the area on a tour in 2011. Lacock Abbey was one of the advertised stops on the tour, but our tour companions chose to go shopping in Bath instead. So it was just wife and I and our tour guide. My recollection is that the house was OK - shabby, and not well maintained - and it was inspiring to see the Oriel window that was the subject of Fox Talbots famous first photograph. The museum didn't make a much of an impression. In fact, the only thing that I can recall from the museum was the rather snooty National Trust docents ripping into our tour guide after seeing him speak to us - the National Trust docents were supposed to be conducting tours, not outside guides!

[jnantz]

I am going to Bièvres this year (7/8th June) and would love to combine that with a visit to Fox Talbot Museum. But its website, managed by the National Trust, seems to be down. I can't get an idea whether it worth a visit or not, do they have a nice collection? a library? a comprehensive view of Talbot's work? Actually I can't even be sure that it is open for visitors. Any local/inside information about it?

hi lungovw -

sorry to change the subject, but this year is the 201st anniversary of Nicéphore Niépce's discovery of photography .. and the place where it all happened is day trip from where you are going to be in Biévres down the A6 to Chalon-sur-Saône ... seems from all reports of people who have visited ( and reported. back on the internet ), it might be exactly the opposite experience people here had at the Talbot museum ...

https://photo-museum.org

ps, it's also a hop and a skip and another hop from Besanscon France where Arca Swiss is found! so you might meet the facility AND the astronomical clock amongst other things like the lovely Le Corbusier Notre-Dame du Haut church in Ronchamps (no artificial light allowed! ) ... that part of France is beautiful ...

[Tobias Key]

There are lots of things to do around the Fox Talbot museum. Stonehenge is only 25 miles away and you could base yourself in Bath, which is also a lovely place to visit. So the area itself does have a lot to offer beyond the museum.

[pgk]

GB News is probably somewhat biased I would guess. Its not a website that I would take any notice of myself when it comes to issues surrounding the National Trust. I don't recall any other news outlets referring to an NT crisis although the Trust does often get criticised for one reason or another.

[dave_whatever]

GB News is sort of the UK equivalent of Fox News, and is taken about as seriously here as you might imagine. Fined £100000 by Ofcom last year for breaking impartially rules for broadcasters.

[Havoc]

I visited Lacock many years ago and found not much of the the photography past except the famous window. Could be that it changed but I would not make the trip from Bièvres to Lacock if that was the only destination in the UK.


hi lungovw -

sorry to change the subject, but this year is the 201st anniversary of Nicéphore Niépce's discovery of photography .. and the place where it all happened is day trip from where you are going to be in Biévres down the A6 to Chalon-sur-Saône ... seems from all reports of people who have visited ( and reported. back on the internet ), it might be exactly the opposite experience people here had at the Talbot museum ...

https://photo-museum.org

ps, it's also a hop and a skip and another hop from Besanscon France where Arca Swiss is found! so you might meet the facility AND the astronomical clock amongst other things like the lovely Le Corbusier Notre-Dame du Haut church in Ronchamps (no artificial light allowed! ) ... that part of France is beautiful ...

Bièvres - Chalons-sur-Saône is about 3h30 drive, Chalons - Besançon another 2h drive, Besançon - Ronchamps another 1h30. And if you like your photography you will spend a lot of time at Ronchamps!

[jnantz]

Havoc:
Thanks for real world times ! My in-laws live about 45m/1h from bezak by train and I’ve spent time in rochamps (Le Corbu was a god ) (but no clue the distance / times ) . Psyched to give Niépce's his! glory: guy was totally pillaged and died penniless …if only he could have scan/xeroxed ( or know about marvels of bicarbonate de soude… ) …