Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south-western side of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 nationwide route, 28 miles (45 kilometres) southwest of Swindon, 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Bristol, 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Bath and 4 miles (6 km) southwest of Chippenham. Corsham was traditionally a centre for farming and also later on, the wool sector, as well as continues to be an emphasis for quarrying Bath Stone. It has several noteworthy historic buildings, among them the manor house of Corsham Court. Throughout the Second World War as well as the Cold War, it became a significant administrative and manufacturing centre for the Ministry of Defence, with various establishments both over ground as well as in obsolete quarry tunnels. The parish consists of the towns of Gastard as well as Neston, which goes to the gates of the Neston Park estate. Corsham shows up to acquire its name from Cosa's ham, "ham" being Old English for homestead, or village. The community is referred in the Domesday book as Cosseham; the letter 'R' shows up to have gone into the name later on under Norman impact (possibly triggered by the recording of local pronunciation), when the community is reported to have 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 location belonged to the King in Saxon times, the location at the time likewise had a large forest which was cleared to make way for more development. There is evidence that the town had been known as "Corsham Regis" as a result of its reputed association with Anglo-Saxon Ethelred of Wessex, and also this name stays as that of a primary school. One of the communities that flourished significantly from Wiltshire's woollen trade in medieval times, it maintained its success after the decrease of that trade through the quarrying of Bathroom rock, with below ground mining works encompassing the south as well as west of Corsham. The main turnpike road (currently the A4) from London to Bristol travelled through the community. Numbers 94 to 112 of the High Street are Grade II * listed structures called the "Flemish Weavers Houses", however there is little cogent evidence to support this name and it shows up more probable to stem from a handful of Dutch workers who arrived in the 17th century. The Grove, opposite the High Street, is a typical example of traditional Georgian architecture.