Corsham Court

Corsham Court has a rich history. It was a royal manor in Saxon times and it is said that it was the seat of Æthelred the Unready. During the 16th century, ownership passed to two of Henry VIII’s wives (Catherine of Aragon and Katherine Parr) and Thomas Smythe acquired the property from Elizabeth I and built the present house in 1582. By the mid-17th century, Lady Margaret Hungerford (who founded the Corsham Almshouse) lived here.

The house was bought by Sir Paul Methuen in 1745 and it remains the seat of the Methuen family. After purchasing the house, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown was hired to redesign and expand it and also to landscape its grounds and the landscaping project was continued by Humphry Repton after Capability Brown’s death in 1783.

The Bath Academy of Art (part of Bath Spa University) was based here between 1946 and 1986. The university returned to Cosham Court in 2008 and it now operates a small facility for artists and designers undertaking doctorate and masters-level studies.

Some scenes from Stanley Kubrick’s film Barry Lyndon (1975) were filmed here and Cosham Court was also used as a filming location for The Remains of the Day (1993).

What to see at Corsham Court

The house has been open to the public almost continuously since the 1780s, which makes it one of England’s longest-running open homes.

Visitors to the house have access to a small group of six state rooms that feature an excellent art collection that includes works by Sofonisba Anguissola, Fra Filippo Lippi, Joshua Reyolds and Van Dyck. It is a fine art collection and it is small enough to not be too overwhelming.

However, these rooms are dimly lit and there is little in the way of background information about the house and its rich history (unless you buy the guidebook that is on sale at the ticket desk). It would be nice if there were information boards set up in the rooms (like you see in most museums and many other stately homes) where visitors can read background information about the artefacts that they are looking at.

There are two additional rooms in the private wing (not normally open to visitors) that are accessible only by guided tour. These tours only operate 10 days per year, during May and August.

Even though this is a family home, it can feel somewhat lifeless. Maybe that is because of how the ground floor rooms (the only rooms accessible to visitors) are laid out.

Similar stately homes that are run by English Heritage or the National Trust would have rooms set up with period furnishing to show how they would have appeared back in the day. For instance, visitors would have access to the kitchen set up with 17th-century utensils and the dining room would be set with a period table setting, which is not the case here. In short, visiting the state rooms at Cosham Court does not give you the same sense of the historical importance of the house that visitors get with similar stately homes elsewhere in England.

The gardens are lovely and peacocks wander freely around the grounds. They were largely designed by Capability Brown who is considered England’s greatest landscaper (Brown’s other works include the gardens at Blenheim Palace, Harewood House, Highclere Castle and Warwick Castle).

The gardens’ highlights include the Grade I-listed Bath House and the great oriental plane tree, which has been recognised as the largest spreading tree in the United Kingdom.

Despite its drawbacks, it is a pleasure visiting a privately-run stately home such as this one. Because there is neither an on-site gift shop nor tea rooms, it less commercialised and visitors sometimes have the opportunity to meet the owner James Methuen-Campbell, the 8th Baron Methuen, which is certainly something that would not be possible if you visited a more well-known stately home or royal palace.

Visiting Corsham Court

Corsham Court is located just over a five-minute walk north of Corsham’s town centre and Corsham itself is around 7km (4⅓ miles) southwest of Chippenham. It generally takes around 12 minutes to drive here from Chippenham or half an hour if you take the bus.

The Faresaver X31 bus route is the best way to get here if you’re taking public transport. The bus stops in Corsham en route between Bath and Chippenham.

The property is owned by the present Baron Methuen who also lives in the house. Because it is privately owned, free entry is not available for English Heritage or National Trust members. However, it is part of the network of historic homes covered by the less well-known Historic Houses Association and free entry to the property is available to HHA members.

It is open only in the afternoon and only on weekends during winter. The property is closed to visitors in December.

Photography is not allowed inside the house but visitors can take photos on the grounds.

Corsham Court has no cafe or any on-site dining facilities, however, it is only a short walk into the town centre and the closest pub (the Flemish Weaver) is only a four-minute walk from the house.

Free car parking is available for visitors to the property.