Corsham

Corsham
Wiltshire
Town hall and post office at the High street
Location
Grid reference:	ST869702
Location:	51°25’48"N, 2°11’24"W
Data
Population:	10,780  (2001)
Post town:	Corsham
Postcode:	SN13
Dialling code:	01249, 01225
Local Government
Council:	Wiltshire
Parliamentary constituency:	Chippenham
Website:	http://www.corsham.gov.uk/

Corsham is a historic market town in west Wiltshire, at the southwestern edge of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 national route, which was formerly the main turnpike road from London to Bristol, between Bath (7.5 miles) and Chippenham (4.5 miles).

Corsham was historically a centre for agriculture and later the wool industry, and remains a focus for quarrying Bath Stone. It contains several notable historic buildings, such as the stately home of Corsham Court. In Second World War and the Cold War, it became a major administrative and manufacturing centre for the Ministry of Defence, with numerous establishments both above ground and in the old quarry tunnels. The early 21st century saw some growth in Corsham's role in the film industry.

History

Corsham appears to derive its name from Cosa's ham; Cosa's homestead. The town is referred in the Domesday Book as Cosseham; the letter 'R' appears to have entered the name later (possibly reflecting the local pronunciation.), when the town is reported to have been in the possession of the Earl of Cornwall. Corsham is recorded as Coseham in 1001, as Cosseha in 1086, and at Cosham as late as 1611 (on John Speede's map of Wiltshire). The Corsham area belonged to the King in Anglo-Saxon times, the area at the time also had a large forest which was cleared to make way for further expansion.

There is evidence that the town had been known as "Corsham Regis" due to its reputed association with King Ethelred of Wessex, and this name remains as that of a primary school.

One of the towns that prospered greatly from Wiltshire's wool trade in mediæval times, it maintained its prosperity after the decline of that trade through the quarrying of Bath stone, with underground mining works extending to the south and west of Corsham.

Numbers 94 to 112 of the High Street are Grade II* listed buildings known as the "Flemish Weavers Houses", however there is little cogent evidence to support this name and it appears more likely to derive from a handful of Dutch workers who arrived in the 17th century.

Corsham also contains the historic Georgian house, The Grove, opposite the high street, a typical example of classic Georgian architecture.

The town

A peacock on Church Street

Corsham's small town centre includes the Martingate Centre, a late 20th century retail development, which also houses offices and a small teaching facility for Wiltshire College, a further education institution.

The stately home of Corsham Court can also be found in the town centre. Standing on a former Saxon Royal Manor, it is based on an Elizabethan manor home from 1582. Since 1745, it has been part of the Methuen estate. The house has an extensive collection of Old Masters, rooms furnished by Robert Adam and Thomas Chippendale, and parks landscaped by Capability Brown and Humphry Repton. The house is open to the public all year round excluding December and is famed locally for its peacocks, which freely wander about the streets. The owner of Corsham Court in the mid-seventeenth century was the commander of the Parliamentarian New Model Army in Wiltshire; his wife built what came to be known as the Hungerford Almshouses in the centre of town.

Corsham is the site of the disused entrance to Tunnel Quarry, which used to be visible off Pockeredge Drive.

Churches

Church of St Bartholomew

Corsham Priory was referred to in 1336 as having been given to Marmoutier Abbey during the time of King Henry I (1068–1135) as an alien priory. An unnamed prior was referred to in 1201, but the priory itself had become inactive by 1294 and its lands passed to The Crown and eventually to King's College, Cambridge. The site later became that of a Georgian house, which is now The Heywood School.

Corsham is within the Diocese of Bristol.

St Bartholomew is the main parish church. It is of Anglo-Saxon origin and stands between the High Street and Corsham Court. The fabric has been extended numerous times since its foundation, and in 1810 the spire was removed as a danger but not replaced until 1874. In the north chancel chapel, the large altar tomb of Thomas Tropenell is shared with his first wife, Agnes.

The Church of St John the Baptist, in Gastard dates back to 1428 but the current building only to 1912. It is built in the Gothic style.

The Church of St Philip and St James is part of the parish of Neston. Opened in 1866, its architecture is early English constructed of local stone.

Churches in the town include:

• Church of England:
  • St Bartholomew
  • St John the Baptist
  • St Philip and St James
• Baptist: Corsham Baptist Church
• Methodist / United Reformed Church: St Aldhelm's
• Roman Catholic: St Patrick

A Baptist chapel was founded in Moor Green in 1833, and an Ebenezer Chapel in Priory Street. The Monk's Lane Chapel, built in 1662, was formerly a Quaker meeting-house and transferred to the Congregational Church in 1690.

The Particular Baptist Chapel on Pound Pill dates back to about 1824. The Brethren met in several locations, beginning in the mid nineteenth century at Pockeridge Lodge, moving to Neston, while another group met in Pickwick. By 1903, both were meeting in Neston and in 1925 they bought the Primitive Methodist Chapel, Station Road.

The Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Pickwick Road, replaced a cottage in Easton, and a house in Middlewick Lane, before the present chapel was built in 1903.

Community

The town has its own festival. Corsham also started a jazz festival (separate from the town festival) in 2004, which included a performance by the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. The event however was not as successful as the organizers would have hoped, bands across the seven venues had to compete with each other and turnout was lower than expected. In 2005 the festival was reduced to just two venues and a much reduced lineup. In 2006, the festival reduced in size once again, with only the Royal Oak Pub hosting the event, and the Stan Tracey Trio as principal headliners.

Pickwick

Pickwick itself was once a separate settlement and now forms the north-western part of the town. The name derives from Old English pic wic; "peak village". The Wiltshire Hundred Roll of 1273 refers to a "William de Pikewicke".

Corsham is claimed to have been an inspiration for Charles Dickens' novel The Pickwick Papers; it is thought that he borrowed the name from Moses Pickwick, a coachman who was born in Pickwick, lived in the "Hare and Hounds" inn, and ran coaches between Bath and London.

Sights of the town

Pickwick Manor was noted by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner as an "unusually impressive example of a late 17th century manor house", having remnants of a 14th-century wing. More recently it has been the residence of architect Harold Brakspear and his descendants.

Beechfield is a late Georgian house in Middlewick Lane. It was extended in the early 1970s to provide additional accommodation The house itself was split into residential accommodation while part of the grounds were split off in 2002 under the auspices of the Town Council to provide a Nature Area where local flora and fauna can be seen.

Middlewick House was occupied by Camilla Parker Bowles and her husband between 1986 and 1995, when it was bought by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd.

Pickwick is also noted for "The Two Pigs", a real ale pub which is a Grade II listed building. Formerly named "The Spread Eagle", it is now known for hosting live music, but at the end of the nineteenth century - when Pickwick did not have a mortuary - corpses were laid out on the bar of the pub until they could be transferred to Corsham mortuary.

Nearby

Hartham Park

Hartham Park is a Georgian estate that includes a rare stické court.

Neston village was established around Neston Park, a country estate whose house was built c.1790. Neston Park is home of the Fuller family, who give their name to the Fuller, Smith and Turner brewery in London, known for Fuller's London Pride cask ale.

Sport and leisure

• Football: Corsham Town FC, who play at Southbank, founded in 1884.

The home of TM UK, the importer for Italian brand of racing competition motorcycles from TM Racing, a small manufacturer based in the coastal town of Pesaro, Italy. TM UK has been based in Corsham for over 20 years and can be found in South Street Business Park.

Film and television

Another use for the quarries is the film industry. Underground scenes from the first episode of Blake's Seven were filmed at Eastlays, and disused tunnels form part of the studio complex of Corsham Media Park, a specialist business park that opened in 2001 adjacent to RAF Rudloe Manor.

Period drama location filming occurs in Corsham, as in neighbouring Lacock and Atworth parishes. Neston Park hosted major outdoor film sets for the 2008 BBC television adaption of Lark Rise to Candleford, and the BBC also filmed scenes for a 2008 version of Tess of the D'Urbervilles in Church Street and Corsham Court grounds.

Corsham Court has also been used as a period location in productions such as Barry Lyndon (1975), The Remains of the Day (1993), A Respectable Trade (1997) and Wives and Daughters (1999).

Pictures

• 

  The historic High Street is typical of a Cotswold town

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  A 1773 map shows Neston's earlier name of Corsham Side

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  The southern portion of the High Street is pedestrianised

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Corsham)

• Corsham Town Council
• Corsham at Wiltshire Community History from Wiltshire Council
• Historic Corsham photos at BBC Wiltshire
• Subterranea Britannica – entry on the Corsham bunkers
• Wiltshire's Secret Underground City: Burlington Articles, interactive map and video tour from BBC Wiltshire

References

• McCamley, Nick (2000) Secret underground cities : an account of some of Britain's subterranean defence, factory and storage sites in the Second World War, Pen and Sword Books Ltd [1], ISBN 0-85052-733-3