Corsham : Where?

Where is Corsham?

Corsham is a small town with a population of some 10,549 according to the last Census. It is part of the larger Corsham Parish with a total population of around 12,000 and is generally regarded as being on the very southerly tip of the Cotswolds.

The parish covers an area of approximately 3.5 miles wide in the north, narrowing to about 2 miles in the south and stretches nearly 3.5 miles from north to south.

Geographically Corsham is situated on the eastern slopes of the Southern Cotswolds on the watershed between the Bristol Avon and one of its tributaries the By Brook, about 8 miles east of the Georgian city of Bath and 4 miles to the west of the North Wiltshire market town of Chippenham. The main A4 road which runs from Bristol to London, via Bath and Reading, passes through the northern boundary of the town.

The southern boundary is a straight line running east-west along the route of the old Roman Road from Bath to Silchester and the great ditch known as the Wansdyke which was dug to mark the boundary between the ancient Kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex.
The western boundary contains part of the Great Ridgeway, a prehistoric track which runs from Rudloe, through Hartham Park to Biddestone and from there to Grittleton where it joins the one of the best known Roman roads in England, the Fosse Way.
The eastern boundary leads us to think that Corsham lay snug and secure along the edge of the great forest lands which existed in Saxon times.