52-529: The Hungerford Almshouses in Corsham , Wiltshire, England, were built in 1668 for Lady Margaret Hungerford of Corsham Court . It has been designated as a Grade I listed building . The almshouses were founded to provide homes for six (later eight) poor people and education for ten children, on a site on the eastern edge of the town, near the south entrance to Corsham Court. The L-shaped building has six houses for single women along its north-east side, each with
104-578: A comprehensive and is now a large academy with a sixth form . In July 2024 the school had 1,264 pupils. Heywood Prep School, Priory Street, is an independent school providing education from ages 2 to 11, and has about 260 pupils. It is located on two acres of property in the centre of Corsham, near Corsham Court , on a site first mentioned in the Domesday Book as a priory donated to an order of monks. The Grade II Georgian building in Bath stone
156-487: A malthouse , and a new building was commenced in 1790. In 1971 it closed and is now used as offices. Ebenezer Chapel, Priory Street, was formed in 1822/3 when some members of the Congregational Church split over doctrine. The present building opened in 1829 and has been extended since then. As of 2016, the building is still in use, as Corsham Baptist Church. Zion Hill Baptist Chapel was built in 1859 by
208-578: A town council . There are currently twenty councillors. The first official census of 1801 showed Corsham having 2,402 inhabitants, while that of 2011 recorded exactly 13,000. The increase shown for 1840 is due to the influx of stone workers and the arrival of the Great Western Railway . No census was taken in 1941 due to the Second World War , but the jump in population (from 3,754 in 1931 to 9,268 in 1951, an increase of 147%)
260-513: A Georgian house was built on the site, which is now part of Heywood Prep School. The town of Corsham and surrounding villages are within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Bristol . The churches are served by the Corsham & Lacock Churches team ministry, which extends east to St Cyriac's, Lacock and St Anne's, Bowden Hill . The main parish Church of St Bartholomew , which stands between
312-528: A feasibility study was approved by the Department for Transport. Nearby stations, and most passenger trains, are operated by Great Western Railway . Some local services call at the nearest station at Melksham , 4.5 miles (7.2 km) away, but Chippenham station , 4.7 miles (7.6 km) away, offers frequent express services and connections. The eastern portal of Box Tunnel , the longest railway tunnel of its time, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for
364-496: A gable and mullioned windows ; at the centre is a Baroque carving of the Hungerford arms described as "flamboyant" by Orbach. The west side has the warden's house and a combined schoolroom and chapel, and a full-height porch which is also elaborately embellished. Margaret Hungerford was the daughter of William Holliday , a wealthy London merchant and alderman, and the widow of Sir Edward Hungerford . In 1802, Edward Hasted
416-683: A group who separated from the Priory Street chapel. The Particular Baptist Chapel, 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. A large Wesleyan Methodist chapel
468-417: A national average of 20 per cent. Corsham has four primary schools, an independent preparatory school and a large secondary school. The primary schools, catering for students up to age 11, are: Two schools outside the parish take pupils from Corsham: Box CE ( VC ) Primary School and Shaw CE Primary School. The Corsham School , The Tynings, is Corsham's only secondary school; it was opened in 1972 as
520-477: A triple cube and has a coffered plasterwork ceiling over a high cove stuccoed in scrolls, designed by Brown and carried out by Thomas Stocking of Bristol (1763–66). The Long Gallery contains Italian Old Masters, with a notable marquetry commode and matching pair of candlestands by John Cobb (1772) and four pier glasses designed by Robert Adam (1770). Capability Brown also worked as a landscape architect for his commission at Corsham. His 1761 plan for laying out
572-510: Is a historic market town and civil parish in west Wiltshire , England. It is at the southwestern edge of the Cotswolds , just off the A4 national route. It is 28 miles (45 km) southwest of Swindon, 20 miles (32 km) east of Bristol, 8 miles (13 km) north-east of Bath , and 4 miles (6 km) southwest of Chippenham . Historically, Corsham was a centre for agriculture and later,
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#1732794366224624-609: Is also a boules competition for the Peter Henderson trophy which is named in memory of a local doctor and former chairman of the twinning association. As part of the 2008 event, a mock Storming of the Bastille was staged to celebrate Bastille Day , Corsham Town Hall standing in for the Parisian prison. Corsham Court Corsham Court is an English country house in a park designed by Capability Brown . It
676-482: Is attributable to the influx of military personnel. The 2001 census demographics of the SN13 postcode area, of which Corsham comprises the major part, did not differ markedly from national figures; the unemployment rate was 2.0 per cent compared to a national 3.2 per cent, and there was a marginally higher rate of retirees (at 23.3 per cent as against 22 per cent). 23 per cent of adults are educated to degree level, against
728-578: Is from 1776; later additions include a barn, used as a dining room and later a science block, and a multi-functional performance hall. The school is part of the Wishford Schools group. Corsham Priory was referred to in 1336 as having been given to Marmoutier Abbey during the time of Henry I (1068–1135) as an alien priory . An unnamed prior was referred to in 1201, but the priory had become inactive by 1294 and its lands passed to The Crown and eventually to King's College, Cambridge . Later
780-473: Is in the town of Corsham , 3 miles (5 km) west of Chippenham , Wiltshire , and is notable for its fine art collection, based on the nucleus of paintings inherited in 1757 by Paul Methuen from his uncle, Sir Paul Methuen , the diplomat. It is currently the home of the present Baron Methuen , James Methuen-Campbell, the eighth generation of the Methuens to live there. Corsham was a royal manor in
832-650: Is open to the public all year round, excluding December, and is famed locally for its peacocks , which also 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, and his wife built what came to be known as the Hungerford Almshouses in the centre of town. The Pound is an arts venue and community hub for north Wiltshire, run by
884-615: Is reported to have been in the possession of the Earl of Cornwall . Corsham is recorded as Cosham as late as 1611 (on John Speed 's map of Wiltshire ). During the Saxon era, the Corsham area belonged to the King, and had a large forest, which was later cleared to make way for further agricultural expansion. There is evidence that the town had been known as "Corsham Regis" due to its reputed association with Anglo-Saxon Ethelred of Wessex , and
936-560: The Great Western Railway , is at Hudswell on the western edge of the town. Corsham Railway Cutting carries the main line westward through Corsham to Box Tunnel. In 1971, 6.6 hectares (16 acres) of land in the cutting were designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its notable geology. Corsham has had a twinning relationship with the town of Jargeau , France since 1981, and has an active twinning association. Corsham holds an annual twinning event in which musical and charity events occur, accompanied by French food and wines. There
988-619: The Liberal Democrats . When the Local Government Act 1972 came into force on 1 January 1974, Corsham came within the areas of Wiltshire County Council and North Wiltshire District Council , electing one county councillor and three district councillors from the Corsham and Lacock division. On 1 April 2009, Wiltshire became a unitary authority managed by Wiltshire Council and the county's district councils were all merged into this body. From 2009, voters in
1040-543: The M4 motorway is about 8 miles (12 km) from Corsham. Bus company Faresaver operate local services, as well as buses to nearby towns (including the twice-per-hour X31 between Bath and Chippenham). The Great Western Main Line railway from London to Bristol, Exeter and Penzance passes through the town, though Corsham station closed in 1965. Proposals to reopen the station have been put forward since at least 2009, and, in 2021,
1092-570: The Royal West of England Academy . During its stay at Corsham until 1986, teachers at Bath Academy included many key figures of British art such as Kenneth Armitage , Terry Frost , Peter Lanyon , Adrian Heath , Bernard Meadows , William Scott and Howard Hodgkin . In 2008, Bath Spa University returned to Corsham Court, opening facilities for research projects, postgraduate and research studios and study areas for artists and designers undertaking Masters level study and Doctorates. Some of
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#17327943662241144-399: The gothic style. St. Patrick 's Roman Catholic Church was opened in 1945, replacing temporary centres which had been arranged for the wartime population influx. The building is the former Pickwick school, opened in 1858 on land gifted in 1846 by Lord Methuen and his tenants, Sir Gabriel Goldney and Arthur Knapp; the architect was Henry Goodridge of Bath. The school closed in 1922 and
1196-519: The wool industry, and remains a focus for quarrying Bath Stone . It has several notable historic buildings, including the stately home of Corsham Court . During the 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 disused quarry and mine tunnels. The parish includes
1248-455: The A4, besides Pickwick, are the hamlets of Middlewick , Upper Pickwick and Cross Keys . Settlements now within Corsham's built-up area are Hudswell , Leafield , Westwells with Moor Green and Neston further south. In the east of the parish are Easton , Thingley and Westrop , and in the southeast Chapel Knapp , Gastard , Monk's Park , The Linleys and The Ridge . Pickwick Manor, on
1300-586: The Bath Road, 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, the Grade II* listed house has been the residence of architect Harold Brakspear and his descendants. Beechfield is a late Georgian house in Middlewick Lane, just north of the town. It was extended in
1352-529: The High Street and Corsham Court , is partly built on Saxon foundations. The present church has 12th-century origins but underwent major Victorian restoration in 1875–1878 by G.E. Street . Pevsner writes: "A large church with a commanding S tower with spire. It looks as if it were all built for the great house and the estate in the days of Victorian prosperity. In fact Street only restored an old church, but he did it unfortunately thoroughly, and he added
1404-419: The High Street are Grade II* listed buildings known as the "Flemish Weavers Houses". However, there is little cogent evidence to support that name and it appears more likely to derive from a handful of Dutch workers who arrived in the 17th century. The Grove, opposite the High Street, is a typical example of classic Georgian architecture, as is The Ivy in Priory Street. There are more than 60 listed buildings in
1456-683: The High Street. Corsham's small town centre includes the historic High Street and the Martingate Centre, a late 20th-century retail development. 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
1508-798: The Pound Arts Trust and supported by Arts Council England , Wiltshire Council, South Gloucestershire Council and Corsham Town Council. Their Rural Touring Scheme take performances to villages in Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire. Pound Arts also organises two annual festivals: the Blue Sky Festival in June, for various art forms including music and comedy; and the Magic and Mayhem Festival in November, featuring magic, burlesque, music hall and other decadent arts. The village of Gastard
1560-456: The area elect three councillors to the unitary authority, one from each of three single-member electoral divisions: Corsham Ladbrook, Corsham Pickwick, and Corsham Without (which extends to neighbouring Lacock , part of Box , and the rural area south and east of the town). Corsham's first tier of government is Corsham Town Council, which was created as a parish council in 1895. Although Corsham never had its own town charter, in 2000 it became
1612-542: The building was used for a time as a glove factory, then as a gas mask factory. Monk's Chapel, built near Gastard in 1662, was formerly a Quaker meeting-house and was transferred to the Congregational church in 1690. The chapel is a Grade I listed building and continues in use as of 2016. The Baptist Chapel, Moor Green, was founded in 1833. Ebenezer Baptist Chapel, Velly, was founded in 1857. The Congregational Church, Pickwick Road, originally met in
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1664-662: The days of the Saxon kings, reputed to have been a seat of Ethelred the Unready . After William the Conqueror , the manor continued to be passed down through the generations in the royal family. It often formed part of the dower of the Queens of England during the late 14th and early 15th centuries, becoming known as Corsham Reginae . During the 16th century, the manor went to two of Henry VIII 's wives, namely Catherine of Aragon until 1536, and Katherine Parr until 1548. During
1716-556: The early 1970s to provide additional accommodation. The house 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. Nearby, Guyers House is a 17th-century house, now a hotel and restaurant. Middlewick House , just outside the town, was occupied by Camilla Parker Bowles (later Queen Camilla) and her first husband between 1986 and 1995, when it
1768-405: The family and their guests could walk underneath the public right of way without having to cross it. Brown also planted screens of trees around the park to obscure roads and fields beyond, making the view more arcadian . The layout of grounds and gardens by Brown represents his most important commission after Blenheim Palace . In 1795, Paul Cobb Methuen commissioned Humphry Repton to complete
1820-596: The house and landscape the park. Brown set the style of the present-day building by retaining the Elizabethan stables, the Riding School, and the great gabled front to the house, which he doubled in depth and provided gabled wings at either end of the house, creating the Picture Gallery and State Rooms in the east wing and a library and new kitchens in the west wing. The Picture Gallery was designed as
1872-399: The internal layout to form a grand hall and a library, at the centre of which is the large library table associated with a payment to Thomas Chippendale 's partner Haig, in 1779. By 1808 much of Nash's work was replaced with a more solid structure, when it was discovered that he had used unseasoned timber in beams and joists; all of Nash's work at Corsham save the library was destroyed when it
1924-542: The landscape, left unfinished at Brown's death with the lake still to be completed, and in 1796 commissioned John Nash to completely remodel the north façade in Strawberry Hill Gothic style, beating the experienced James Wyatt for the commission. Nash further embellished other areas of Brown's external building works, including Brown's Gothic Bath House in the North Avenue, as well as reorganising
1976-473: The name remains as that of a primary school. One of the towns that prospered greatly from Wiltshire 's wool trade in medieval times, it maintained its prosperity after the decline of the trade through the quarrying of Bath stone , with underground mining works extending to the south and west of Corsham. The main turnpike road (now the A4) from London to Bristol passed through the town. Numbers 94 to 112 of
2028-464: The north chancel chapel, the large altar tomb of 15th-century landowner Thomas Tropenell is shared with his first wife, Agnes. The Church of St Philip and St James at Neston was opened in 1866. Its architecture is early English , in local stone to designs of J.H. Hakewill . Internal re-ordering was completed in 1985. The Church of St. John the Baptist at Gastard was built in 1912 in
2080-414: The park separated it from the pleasure grounds using a ha-ha (sunken fence) so that the view from the house would not be obstructed. Brown planned to enlarge the fish ponds to create a lake and constructed an orangery (neither of which survive) and built a Gothic Bath House (which does survive). He created a "Great Walk" stretching for a mile through clumps of trees. An ornamental arch was built so that
2132-408: The reign of Elizabeth I the estate passed out of the royal family; the present house was built in 1582 by Thomas Smythe . The owner of Corsham Court in the mid-seventeenth century was the commander of the Parliamentarian New Model Army in Wiltshire; his wife, Lady Margaret Hungerford, built what came to be known as the Hungerford Almshouses in the centre of town. An entrance archway was built to
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2184-454: The south of the house c. 1700–20. The arch, in baroque style. is flanked by massive ashlar piers with ball finials . The house was bought in 1745 by Sir Paul Methuen for his cousin, also named Paul Methuen , whose grandson became Baron Methuen . The house remains the seat of the Methuen family. In 1761–64, Lancelot 'Capability' Brown was commissioned to redesign and enlarge
2236-522: The specimen trees, including American oaks, Quercus coccinea and Q phellos , and the magnificent oriental plane . The grounds also incorporate a folly ruin, built by Nash c. 1797, incorporating some medieval stonework and some material from the eighteenth-century Bath House built by Brown. In 1960, the house and the Bath House were recorded as Grade I listed and the ensemble of stables, riding school and entrance arch as Grade II*. The park
2288-400: The tower." Street's tower replaced an earlier central tower. Around the same time the chancel was restored by C.F. Hansom , who also added a north chapel for the Methuen family. The north aisle remains from the early 14th century, and the south aisle from later in that century; the nave has Norman arcades and a 15th-century roof. In 1960 the church was designated as Grade I listed. In
2340-452: The town. The name derives from Anglo-Saxon pic (meaning a peak or pointed hill) and wic (village). The Wiltshire Hundred Roll of 1273 refers to a "William de Pikewicke". Corsham was the 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. North of
2392-520: The villages of Gastard and Neston, which is at the gates of the Neston Park estate. Corsham appears to derive its name from Cosa's hām , "ham" being Old English for homestead, or village. The town is referred in the Domesday book as Cosseham . The letter 'R' appears to have entered the name later under Norman influence (possibly caused by the recording of local pronunciation), when the town
2444-579: Was a settlement by the 12th century. It has a 20th-century church. 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 . Pickwick was once a separate settlement and now forms the north-western part of
2496-486: Was bought by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd . Further to the north, Hartham Park is a Georgian estate that includes a rare stické court. Rudloe Manor , a 17th-century Grade II* listed manor house, is off the Bath Road west of the town, just outside Corsham parish. For Westminster elections, Corsham is within the Chippenham constituency, which has been represented since the 2024 general election by Sarah Gibson for
2548-754: Was built on Pickwick Road in 1903. In 1984 the congregation was joined by the nearby Congregational church (which by then was part of the United Reformed Church ) to form the United Church of St Aldhelm. In 2016 the church continues in use. Corsham is connected to Bradford on Avon by the B3109 road , to Melksham by the B3353 , and to Chippenham and Bath by the A4 Bath Road , a former turnpike from London to Bristol . Junction 17 of
2600-520: Was given the Mastership of The Hungerford Almshouses by his friend William Bouverie, who had become Earl of Radnor in 1765. Hasted remained Master of the Almshouse from 1807 until his death in 1812. The site, also known as Lady Margaret Hungerford Almshouses & Schoolroom and Corsham Almshouses & 17th Century Schoolroom , is operated as a visitor attraction. Corsham Corsham
2652-465: Was recorded as Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens in 1987. Following the destruction of their premises during World War II , Bath Academy of Art (now Bath School of Art and Design and part of Bath Spa University ) moved to Corsham Court in 1946 at the invitation of Paul Ayshford Methuen, 4th Baron Methuen , who himself was a distinguished painter and at the time president of
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#17327943662242704-420: Was remodelled by Thomas Bellamy (1798–1876) in 1844–49 during the ownership by Paul Methuen, 1st Baron Methuen , who was Member of Parliament for Wiltshire and Wiltshire North . Brown planned to include a 50,000 m lake. This lake, however, was not completed until some forty years later, by Repton, who formed his long working relationship with Nash at Corsham Court. They laid out avenues and planted
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