Lacock is a village steeped in history, unchanged for hundreds of years, yet still home to a thriving community, writes Maurice Fells. Pictures: Richard Hudd

IF ever there were a village frozen in time, this is it. Lacock's thatched and stone cottages, Tudor half-timbered buildings and cobbled streets have been untouched since time immemorial. There are no TV aerials, satellite dishes, overhead cables or yellow lines on the roads.

It's as though modern times have passed the village by.

Lacock sits in rolling countryside on the southern edge of the Cotswolds, a couple of miles south of Chippenham.

It was once an important centre of the medieval wool trade – most of the cottages were the homes of weavers, with first-floor rooms large enough to accommodate their wide looms – but now it bustles with tourists, film crews and some of the best-known names from stage and screen.

All have been seduced by Lacock's unspoilt charm, which has helped it to make countless screen appearances over the past 50 years. Lacock has so many film credits, it must be the envy of any Hollywood star.

Stroll around the streets, which are set in a square grid pattern, and you quickly get the impression that every house, shop and indeed every building, from the primary school to the church, is a part of a film set. There have been virtually no new buildings since the 1800s.

It's no wonder that film producers see Lacock as the location of choice for major costume dramas such as Pride and Prejudice, Emma, The Mayor of Casterbridge and The Other Boleyn Girl, starring Scarlett Johannson. Anthony Hopkins was filming here last spring for his forthcoming big-screen blockbuster, The Wolfman. And the BBC filmed scenes here for its five-part television series based on Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford Chronicles.

But it's not only film producers who benefit from Lacock's beauty. The influx of production crews gives a welcome boost to the village shops, local hotels and bed and breakfasts. Very often, local residents are chosen as paid film extras for crowd scenes. And then there's the surge in tourism when the production reaches the cinemas or televisions screens.

No one knows just how many people visit the village each year. It's impossible to do a number count as they can arrive from several directions, but the National Trust, which owns most of the properties in the village, estimates it's 300,000. Yet despite the crowds, Lacock still manages to retain its old-world charm.

Lacock is far more than a part-time film set and tourist magnet. It is home to a thriving local community, a fact that's often forgotten. There's a population of 350 people in the village itself, with another 1,600 or so in the wider parish.

The village has a primary school, shop, bakery, a family business of goldsmiths and silversmiths, a pottery, traditional tea rooms and five pubs.

Built in 1361, the George Inn dates back as a pub to the days of Oliver Cromwell.

A farmers' market, with all the produce coming from within 10 miles of the village, is held once a month.

The village hall is put to good use by community organisations ranging from the beavers and cubs to a group for parents and toddlers. The Wise Owl pre-school group, art and local history clubs, church organ- isations, and the allotments and gardens society are well supported, too. And for the ladies who want to keep fit, there's the Lacock Luvlies group.

But idyllic country life was disrupted earlier this year by the Post Office's decision to shut the sub-post office, as part of a national programme of closures. It's been run by Emma Hands for the past five years, who combined the business with a general store.

Villagers ran a vigorous campaign to keep the post office open, supported by their MP and actress Dame Judi Dench, who played the part of Miss Matty Jenkyns in Cranford.

"It is sad that the post office is closing, as it provides a valuable service to the community," said Graham Heard, property manager of the National Trust's estate office in Lacock.

"We haven't got a date yet for its closure. The nearest post offices are at Melksham, Chippenham, and Corsham. We're hoping to have an outreach service here provided perhaps by one of these post offices.

"We hope that Emma will be able to continue running her general store.

"Most of the village is owned by the trust, which owns 89 of the houses here. But in every street you'll find a property that's privately owned.

"There's the Church of England school in High Street for example, the Carpenters Arms and St Cyriac's Church."

Lacock is one of 17 villages in the country owned by the trust.

It means that occupiers of the houses, dating back to the 16th century, are the trust's tenants. Most have families who have lived in Lacock for several generations.

In caring for the village and its timeless charm, the trust has TV signals piped into homes from a simple well-recessed aerial on a nearby hillside, dispensing with the need for unsightly rooftop aerials.

Estate agents say it's an incredibly rare event for a private property to come on to the market in the village but when it does, it attracts a lot of interest and sells quickly. A Grade II-listed, six-bedroom farmhouse just outside the village sold for about £1.35 million last year.

Lacock Abbey

ARGUABLY Lacock's best-known building is Lacock Abbey, which has featured in three of the Harry Potter films. The abbey cloisters and side-rooms were transformed into classrooms at Hogwarts School.

The abbey, which lies on the outskirts of the village close to the River Avon, was founded in 1232 by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, as a tribute to her husband. She became its first abbess but the building was later turned into a country house.

Eventually, the church was destroyed but its cloisters, sacristy, chapter house and monastic rooms still remain.

At one time, it was the home of William Fox Talbot (1800-1877). It was here, in 1840, that he took the first modern photograph in creating a negative which could be copied.

Talbot was also a mathematician, scientist and archaeologist and he published the first book to be illustrated with photographs.

After being in the ownership of the Talbot family for 400 years, Miss Matilda Talbot donated the abbey, together with most of the village, to the National Trust in 1944.

During peak season, up to 1,000 people a day visit the abbey.