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ironstone around the village of Abbotsbury itself, the first Parliamentary Bill was opposed by a local landowner and withdrawn in 1873.Further application was made in 1876 and received Royal Assent on 6 June 1877.
Captain Thomas Hardy, one of Lord Nelson's commanders at the Battle of Trafalgar, lived in the village.
An incline was constructed at Portesham to link local quarries on the hill near the Hardy Monument to the line although the actual traffic from this source proved disappointing.