The Village of Lacock, No. 5

I read this online: The Porch House, in the High Street, is one of the most important houses in the village and must have belonged to a number of prosperous inhabitants over the centuries. As we see it today the house was built in the 16th and 17th centuries on to the core of an earlier house. The porch itself is apparently of the 15th century as is a cross wing on the right hand side. Until the building of a bypass in 1964 the main Trowbridge to Chippenham road was West Street, forming the cross of a T junction with the High Street and so Porch House would have occupied an important site at this junction with the main road. (I cannot understand why this states that the porch is a wing on the right hand side when it looks to me like the porch is on the left hand side. Those people are at its location, if you ask me.)



These half-timbered houses date from the medieval period. The one with the two bay windows, nearest the Red Lion, was known as the Coffee Tavern in 1905--I found a vintage photo online.



Lacock Food Store and Post Office--didn't even have time to stop in here. I was too busy taking photos of all of the historic exteriors to wonder about what might be for sale in the store.

The Village of Lacock, No. 2

The Red Lion, a picturesque building along the High Street which offers food, drink, and five rooms for overnight stays. Trip Advisor shows 80 excellent reviews for the pub. I also read this online: A popular inn, restaurant and pub, the Red Lion was transformed into a storefront for the popular BBC series "The Cranford Chronicles," starring Judi Dench and Eileen Atkins. Fans of the series will recognize the building's red brick and white windowpanes even without the transformation, and many of the adjacent houses were also used in filming. According to the Lion's website, staff members have appeared as extras in some of the shots! One more bit found online about this building: A red brick inn of 1730 that fronts much earlier buidings. The inn name is an ancient one and may reflect the fact that John of Gaunt owned land nearby - his crest was a red lion. The inn was probably extended in the 18th century to take advantage of the increased traffic from the newly turnpiked Bath road that entered Lacock from Bowden Hill.



The back of the Red Lion where evidently there is outdoor seating when the weather's just right. The rain hadn't been stopped for too long, so I imagine any customers at the Red Lion were inside the pub.