Monument record MDO31438 - Post medieval gauge tramway, Norden Heath, Corfe Castle

A section of an early modern tramway is visible on aerial photographs of Norden Heath, Corfe Castle. A mineral tramway is shown here on the Third Edition OS map. The National Monuments Record for this site records it as being a 3ft. 9 inch gauge tramway which was built in 1907 to carry clay across the heath from Norden to Goathorn Pier. It ceased to be used for through traffic in 1936. A section at the Norden end was retained and rebuilt in 1948 to a gauge of 1ft. 11.5inches (NMR 456844).

A section of an early modern tramway is visible on aerial photographs of Norden Heath, Corfe Castle (1), and was digitally plotted during the Wild Purbeck Mapping Project. A mineral tramway is shown here on the Third Edition OS map (2). The National Monuments Record for this site records it as being a 3ft. 9 inch gauge tramway which was built in 1907 to carry clay across the heath from Norden to Goathorn Pier. It ceased to be used for through traffic in 1936. A section at the Norden end was retained and rebuilt in 1948 to a gauge of 1ft. 11.5inches (NMR 456844). This site has since been built over by modern development.

<1> Royal Air Force, 14-MAR-1945, RAF 106G/LA/194 257-58 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13654.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1923-33, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, epoch three (Map). SDO11595.

<3> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1993, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1992, 233 (Serial). SDO92.

'A short length of the former mineral tramway from Norden to Goathorn, including iron rails, survives on the edge of this plot.'

Record last edited

Apr 27 2017 10:07AM