Corsham is a historic market community and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south-western side of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 nationwide path, 28 miles (45 km) southwest of Swindon, 20 miles (32 kilometres) southeast of Bristol, 8 miles (13 kilometres) northeast of Bath and also 4 miles (6 km) southwest of Chippenham. Corsham was historically a centre for agriculture and later on, the wool sector, as well as remains a focus for quarrying Bath Stone. It consists of several remarkable historic buildings, amongst them the stately home of Corsham Court. During the 2nd World War and the Cold War, it became a major administrative and also production centre for the Ministry of Defence, with numerous facilities both above ground and also in obsolete quarry tunnels. The parish consists of the towns of Gastard and Neston, which goes to the gates of the Neston Park estate. Corsham appears to acquire its name from Cosa's ham, "ham" being Old English for homestead, or town. The town is referred in the Domesday publication as Cosseham; the letter 'R' shows up to have actually entered the name later on under Norman influence (potentially caused by the recording of regional pronunciation), when the town is reported to have actually been in the ownership of the Earl of Cornwall. Corsham is recorded as Coseham in 1001, as Cosseha in 1086, and also as Cosham as late as 1611 (on John Speed's map of Wiltshire). The Corsham area belonged to the King in Saxon times, the area at the time additionally had a big woodland which was cleared to give way for further expansion. There is proof that the town had been known as "Corsham Regis" due to its reputed organization with Anglo-Saxon Ethelred of Wessex, and also this name stays as that of a primary school. One of the communities that thrived substantially from Wiltshire's woollen trade in medieval times, it maintained its success after the decrease of that trade with the quarrying of Bathroom rock, with underground mining functions extending to the south and west of Corsham. The major turnpike road (currently the A4) from London to Bristol passed through the town. Numbers 94 to 112 of the High Street are Grade II * listed buildings called the "Flemish Weavers Houses", however there is little cogent evidence to support this name and it appears most likely to derive from a handful of Dutch employees who showed up in the 17th century. The Grove, opposite the High Street, is a case in point of traditional Georgian style.