English: Lacock Abbey Forecourt Lacock Abbey is in the village of Lacock in Wiltshire. It was founded by Lady Ela the Countess of Salisbury in the reign of King Henry III. Unlike many other monastic buildings, the Abbey survived the 'Dissolution of the Monasteries' in the mid-16th century, being sold by Henry VIII to Sir William Sharrington who converted it into a house. The Abbey eventually passed to the Talbot family and today is most often associated with William Henry Fox Talbot who, in 1835, invented the earliest known photographic process to produce a permanent 'negative/positive' image upon which modern photography is based. The process, which became known as the Caltotype (or Talbotype) process, created photographic images directly onto paper coated with silver iodide. Paper Calotype negatives can produce an extremely beautiful 'soft focus' effect.