We live in pretty UK village where Harry Potter and Downton Abbey were filmed – celebs love it but it has a down side
RESIDENTS in a pretty village where Harry Potter and Downton Abbey were filmed say that celebs love it – but it has a down side.
Lacock in Wiltshire has been preserved as it was two centuries ago by the National Trust, which owns it.
Home to just 1,000 people, the unspoiled village was used as a set for several Harry Potter films, Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, Wolf Hall and the Other Boleyn Girl.
With its timber-framed cottages barely changing in 300 years, Lacock’s medieval abbey is particularly popular with producers.
Celebs have flocked to the village, with comedian Alex Brooker and Inbetweeners star Joe Thomas recently posing with landlord Neil Glasspool at the Rising Sun pub.
Camilla Parker Bowles also owns a private property near the village, while Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and chef Marco Pierre White also live nearby.
But residents said there is a down side to life in the village – with one local left in tears by Nazi role-play and memorabilia at Lacock Abbey.
She told The Sun: “As we left we saw two men strutting in wearing full Nazi SS uniform with knee-high black boots.
“It made my heart stop. I felt nauseous and began to cry.
“I was bewildered that nobody else seemed to be offended by what was going on. It was like being in a parallel universe.”
The National Trust said the Lacock At War event at a playing field next to its Wiltshire stately home was “insensitive and unacceptable” and launched an investigation.
Locals also slammed the National Trust for selling Harry Potter superfans tickets for Lacock Abbey while the UK was locked down against covid-19 – allegedly encouraging rule-breaking.
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