The abbey remained a nunnery until the Dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century; it was then sold to Sir William Sharington who converted the convent into a residence where he and his family lived.

It was fortified and remained loyal to the crown during the English Civil War, but surrendered to the Parliamentary forces once Devizes had fallen in 1645.

So as not to be disturbed by villagers passing close to his residence, he is said to have sold the church bells and used the proceeds to erect a bridge over the River Ray for their convenience.

About 1550, Sir William added an octagonal tower containing two small chambers, one above the other; the lower one was reached through the main rooms, and was for storing and viewing his treasures; the upper one, for banqueting, was only accessible by walking across the leads of the roof.

[5] In the 16th and early 17th centuries, Nicholas Cooper has pointed out, bedchambers were often named for individuals who customarily inhabited them when staying at a house.

[11] The garrison surrendered (on agreed terms) to Parliamentarian forces under the command of Colonel Devereux, Governor of Malmesbury, within days of Oliver Cromwell's capture of the nearby town of Devizes in late September 1645.

It is most often associated with amateur scientist and inventor William Henry Fox Talbot, who in 1835 made what may be the earliest surviving photographic camera negative: an interior view of the oriel window in the south gallery of the abbey.

[13][14] Talbot's experiments eventually led to his invention of the more sensitive and practical calotype or "Talbotype" paper negative process for camera use, commercially introduced in 1841.

[15] When Sir William Sharington purchased the remains of the Augustinian nunnery in 1540, after the dissolution, he built a country house on the cloister court.

The south front was plain, being the inside north wall of the original abbey church which was pulled down, but was rebuilt by William Talbot in 1828 to include bay windows.

[16] Lacock Abbey is now the property of the National Trust, to which it was given in 1944 by Matilda Gilchrist-Clark, who had inherited the estate from her uncle Charles Henry Fox Talbot in 1916.

It celebrates the life of William Henry Fox Talbot, and his contributions to photography, and includes exhibits on the man himself,[22] his mousetrap camera (so-called by his wife because he scattered the little wooden boxes round the house),[23] the chemical processes involved in obtaining images and the early history of photography.

[25][26] The abbey was one of two major locations for the 2008 film version of the historical novel The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, directed by Justin Chadwick.

[27] Parts of the 2010 American horror film The Wolfman, starring Anthony Hopkins and directed by Joe Johnston, were shot at the abbey.