Corsham: Is this the prettiest High Street in England?

an amazing place to visit

Corsham High Street. Image: Roland’s Travels

The High Street running through the Wiltshire town of Corsham must be one of the most attractive in England. Corsham is a small town with some ancient and charming buildings within the shopping area. Without further ado, let me give you a little background and then let’s walk and tour the oldest part of this town. Are you ready?

Corsham, Wiltshire - a potted history

In the distant past, Corsham was an agricultural centre before growing with the woollen industry. In later years, as in much of England, the wool trade died out, and quarrying became important. The famous Bath Stone is quarried in this area, much of it being mined, which left a vast network of tunnels.

Those tunnels proved useful for military use, and Corsham became an area, both underground and overground, used by the Royal Navy, especially just outside the town at Copenacre. Those tunnels are still used for many storage purposes, such as documents and wine. There is an underground ‘town’, not too far out of Corsham, where the government and other important people would have been based in the event of nuclear war. It even has a railway station below the meadows above. Don’t worry about us, chaps!

The name of Corsham comes from Old English, Cosa’s ham, meaning a homestead or village. The word ham is included in many English place names. It is recorded in the year 1001 as Coseham and by 1611 Cosham. It’s rumoured that with a west country pronunciation, a letter r was inserted to make it sound as was pronounced Corsham. There is also evidence that it was once known as Corsham Regis due to its association with the Anglo-Saxon King, Ethelred of Wessex. 

The oldest and best things to see are all reasonably close together, so this will not be a long-distance walk. 

The Methuen Arms

The Methuen Arms Image: Roland’s Travels

Starting from the end of the High Street at the junction with Lacock Road lies The Methuen Arms on my right, listed as number 2, High Street. The name Methuen is synonymous with Corsham. Corsham Court is the family seat of the Methuen family and is only an arrow shot from The Methuen Arms. I will let you know more about the grand house later. 

On the side of the pub are a couple of interesting features, which you can see in the photographs below. The ancient chequer signs, still visible on the doorway, are most likely associated with a money table. This sign would show that the Inn provided financial services. Innkeepers often provided a basic banking service, something I wasn’t aware of until I started researching for this article. 

Another indication that the proprietors of The Methuen Arms were good entrepreneurs lies above a window on the same side of the building. The words Post Office are still visible. In the early 1800s, the first post office in Corsham was established here. It was called Commercial Inn and Posting House. This business fitted in well, as the establishment was a coaching inn and could transport mail along the Bristol to London route. There was stabling for up to 40 horses. 

The Post Office sign and chequers around the doorway. Images: Roland's Travels

Going back to the beginning, in Tudor times, this was the site of a very impressive house, Winters Court. In 1463, the property was owned by the Nott family, and in 1608, it became a pub and was given the name The Red Lion. Christian Nott died in 1799, and ownership passed to the Methuen family, who changed the name to The Methuen Arms.

A claim to fame for The Methuen Arms is that when Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was based at Royal Arthur the Petty Officer Training School, he played Skittles there. Occasionally, he wouldn’t be available when he went to visit the then Princess Elizabeth in 1947, the year they married.

Many more tales about The Methuen Arms exist, but we must move on! It will take years to look at the history of every property. As you can see from the photos, the shop fronts are in some amazing buildings. The photographs will do some of the talking for me. As always, click on an image, and it will enlarge in your web browser.