Portesham railway station

Portesham was a small railway station serving the village of Portesham in the west of the English county of Dorset.

Portesham
General information
LocationPortesham, West Dorset
England
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyAbbotsbury Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingWestern Region of British Railways
Key dates
9 November 1885Opened
1 December 1952Closed

Location

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The station was sited across the fields from village not far from an underbridge carrying the line across the Weymouth to Abbotsbury road at a skew angle. Just to the east of the station an incline provided access to quarries near the Hardy Monument.

History

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The station was opened on 9 November 1885 by the Abbotsbury Railway when it opened the line from Abbotsbury to Upwey Junction on the Great Western Railway (GWR) (former Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway line).[1][2]

The station had a single platform and a passing loop. The goods shed was opposite the platform and functioned for the life of the branch.[3] The station was the site of a GWR camp coach from 1935 to 1939.[4][5]

The station closed with the branch on 1 December 1952.[1][6]

Buildings

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A typical William Clarke stone building served the single platform,

The site today

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The station building is now part of a private dwelling and is used as a holiday let.

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Coryates Halt
Line and station closed
  Great Western Railway
Abbotsbury branch railway
  Abbotsbury
Line and station closed

References

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  1. ^ a b Quick 2022, p. 370.
  2. ^ Grant 2017, p. 3.
  3. ^ "Portisham station on OS 25 inch map CDorset XLVI.11 (Abbotsbury; Littlebredy; Long Bredy; Portesham)". National Library of Scotland. 1889. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  4. ^ McRae 1997, p. 31.
  5. ^ Fenton 1999, pp. 153–154.
  6. ^ Hurst 1992, p. 8 (ref 0331).

Bibliography

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Further reading

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50°40′04″N 2°33′39″W / 50.6678°N 2.5607°W / 50.6678; -2.5607