Corsham is a historic market town and also civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It goes to the south-western edge of the Cotswolds, simply off the A4 national path, 28 miles (45 kilometres) southwest of Swindon, 20 miles (32 kilometres) southeast of Bristol, 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Bath and also 4 miles (6 kilometres) southwest of Chippenham. Corsham was traditionally a centre for farming and also later on, the woollen industry, as well as remains an emphasis for quarrying Bath Stone. It has numerous notable historic structures, amongst them the manor house of Corsham Court. During the Second World War and also the Cold War, it ended up being a major administrative and also production centre for the Ministry of Defence, with many establishments both over ground and in obsolete quarry tunnels. The parish includes the villages of Gastard as well as Neston, which is at the gates of the Neston Park estate. Corsham shows up to obtain its name from Cosa's ham, "ham" being Old English for homestead, or village. The town is referred in the Domesday publication as Cosseham; the letter 'R' shows up to have actually entered the name later under Norman influence (potentially brought on by the recording of local enunciation), when the community 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 also as Cosham as late as 1611 (on John Speed's map of Wiltshire). The Corsham location belonged to the King in Saxon times, the area at the time also had a huge forest which was gotten rid of to give way for further growth. There is evidence that the community had actually been referred to as "Corsham Regis" as a result of its reputed organization with Anglo-Saxon Ethelred of Wessex, and this name stays as that of a primary school. One of the towns that thrived substantially from Wiltshire's woollen trade in middle ages times, it kept its success after the decline of that profession via the quarrying of Bath stone, with below ground mining works extending to the south and also west of Corsham. The primary turnpike road (now the A4) from London to Bristol went through the community. Numbers 94 to 112 of the High Street are Grade II * listed buildings called the "Flemish Weavers Houses", nevertheless there is little cogent evidence to support this name and it appears most likely to originate from a handful of Dutch workers who showed up in the 17th century. The Grove, opposite the High Street, is a typical example of timeless Georgian style.