Stone Quarrying
Apart from the thriving agricultural community in the area, the early prosperity of the town was derived from its twin foundations of wool and local limestone known as Bath Stone.

The construction of the London to Bristol railway, Brunel's GWR, during the last century opened up new markets for both hewn and worked stone giving a vast increase of output and the creation of many miles of underground stone workings.

A legacy of those days is a network of footpaths still existing across the Parish tracing the path of workers on their daily journeys from surrounding villages to the various quarries.

Stone Quarrying in Corsham

Miners coming out of one of the stone mines at the end of a shift

Until recently one commercially run quarry survived in the parish. Many were converted during the last war and are in use by the Ministry of Defence for Communication and storage purposes, giving employment to many people in the area, although with the coming of the various Defence reviews and subsequent cutbacks, many of these facilities are closing, or at least scaling down their operations to meet the reduced requirements of the smaller armed forces.

The result of Corsham's prosperity in the 17th and 18th century can be seen in the variety of fine buildings in the town. Many have been well preserved and the paved pedestrian area in the High Street adds to the attraction.

Corsham | Corsham Court | History | The GWR
Burlington | Corsham Studios | HomePage

Copyright © 1999/2000 by Hugh Collins
This Page Last Updated 06 January 2000