First proposed in 1872, to tap the stone deposits at Portesham and ironstone around the village of Abbotsbury itself, the first Parliamentary Bill was opposed by a local landowner and withdrawn in 1873.Further application was made in 1876 and received Royal Assent on 6 June 1877.
In 2010, Abbotsbury employed the chainsaw artist Matthew Crabb to carve a 200 year old oak tree which had fallen after a particularly bad winter.