Discovering Corsham

This month’s walk by Andrew Swift offers a combination of town and country and a chance to discover one of Wiltshire’s proudest secrets, the market town of Corsham, known for its exotic peacocks and picturesque countryside

Corsham is one of Wiltshire’s best-kept secrets. That doyen of architectural historians, Nikolaus Pevsner, declared it had “no match in Wiltshire for its wealth of good houses”, John Betjeman thought its High Street “one of the best left in England”, and, in the most recent BBC production of Poldark, it stood in – very convincingly – for 18thcentury Truro. Yet it remains overshadowed by honeypots such as Lacock and Castle Combe.

To get to the starting point for this 5.5 mile walk, drive east along the A4 and, as you enter Corsham, turn right at a miniroundabout along the B3353. Carry straight on, ignoring turnings to left or right, and as you leave the town head straight on at a mini-roundabout towards Lacock. After half a mile, just past a sign warning of pedestrians crossing, turn into a car park on the right (ST880702).

Follow a path out of the car park, cross the road, go through two gates into Corsham Park and turn right along a path. Just before a gate, bear left to follow a fence as it curves round to the lake. Head west along the lake, and when it ends carry on in the same direction. When the spire of St Bartholomew’s church emerges from behind a mighty oak, head towards it and go through a kissing gate into the churchyard (ST874704). The church is partNorman and well worth a visit if only to see the memorials in the Methuen Chapel.

As you go through a gateway into Church Square, Corsham Court – open afternoons except on Monday and Friday – is on the right. Ahead lies Church Street, with Corsham’s most bizarre building on the right. It could easily be taken for a ruinous fragment of a medieval hall or monastery, but it was actually built in 1797 so that the court’s residents didn’t have to look at the back of the imposing three-storey building in front of it.

The other buildings in Church Street are more modest and typical of the many weavers’ cottages still to be found in the town. At the end of Church Street, you come to the High Street, where much of the filming for Poldark was done. The town hall was built as a market hall, with open arches, in 1784. After they were filled in, the upper storey was added in 1882.

Looking to your left, you can understand why John Betjeman was so taken with the High Street. For now, though, we are heading right, past a row known as the Flemish Cottages after the weavers from the Low Countries who settled here in the 17th century. If you look to the left up Priory Street, you will see, opposite 18th-century Ivy House, an older building once used as a fire station, and still with its bell for summoning the firemen.

At the end of the High Street, the road curves left past the sculpted hedges of Corsham Court. Keep to the left-hand pavement and, at the main road, cross and carry on along Bence’s Lane. Just after passing the end of Ivy Field, turn left along a footpath. At the end, cross the road and turn right past the old Duke of Cumberland Inn and the Baptist Church of 1828.

At the end, turn left along the A4 through Pickwick, once a separate hamlet, but now absorbed into Corsham. Pickwick is a fascinating place, despite the constant stream of traffic flowing past, with old cottages rubbing shoulders with grander buildings. The windowless building you pass on the left, its high arches filled with grey stone, was part of the Pickwick Brewery, which closed in 1896. A little further on, cross the main road and turn right along Middlewick Lane, which leads into open country (ST863706). After 900m, turn left at a T junction, and, after passing a row of 17thcentury cottages, carry on through a gate. After another 400m, follow the stony track as it curves up to the left, go through a gate and follow a lane through Upper Pickwick. After 300m, when the lane curves right, take the footpath carrying straight on across a field (ST854710). After going through three kissing gates, carry on across another field and turn left along the main road.

After 325m, cross at a traffic island to the Hare and Hounds and head along Pickwick Road to the right of it. Modern buildings predominate for a while, but older houses soon start to appear. After 700m look out on the right for the old White Lion Inn on the corner of Paul Road, still with its elaborate sign bracket.

Distance: 5.5 miles

Time: 3 hours plus

Map OS Explorer: 156

Corsham Court is open from 2pm–5.30pm daily except Mondays and Fridays; corsham-court.co.uk

At the mini-roundabout cross at the pedestrian lights, carry on in the same direction and turn right over the zebra crossing. After passing The Grove, a stately house of 1737, turn right along Station Road. Carry on beside the cricket ground before turning left along a footpath leading past the Pound Arts Centre. At the end, cross and turn left past the Grade I-listed Hungerford Almshouses, built in 1668 to accommodate six elderly people and educate ten scholars.

Cross ahead at the end, turn left and after passing the Methuen Arms, turn right into the High Street. This is the heart of the old town, packed with extraordinary buildings and worth taking at a leisurely pace. It is also a very vibrant and welcoming place, where you can find cafés, pubs, galleries and a range of other interesting shops, including an excellent bookshop.

Turn right at the end along Church Street, and, when you enter Church Square, turn right through a kissing gate to walk along an avenue of limes. After 100m, when a path crosses the avenue, turn left through a gate to head back across the park to the car park. n

Many more walks can be found in Andrew Swift’s Country Walks from Bath published by Akeman Press; akemanpress.com