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Newton
Tramway
About 1860 Benjamin Fayle, constructed a
railway from his clay pits at the abandoned village
of Newton, some 2 miles to Goathorn Pier on South Deep in Poole Harbour.
The Admiralty had given permission for the building of the pier in 1852. The railway
was initially horse worked and built at 3 foot gauge but was re-gauged to 3ft 9in
to take a Steam locomotive that was built by Stephen Lewin of Poole Foundry in
1870. The engine was named "Corfe" but was nicknamed "Tiny"
because of its size. The nickname became its real name. In 1905 the railway was
joined to Norden and part of it became the "Fayles Tramway" (press
Fayles Tramway button above for history after 1907)
Newton
was a "new town" which King Edward I attempted to establish on
the shores of Brand's Bay in Dorset's Poole Harbour as a port to handle the
trade in Purbeck Stone in 1286. Although the site was pegged out to include
space for a market and a church and some houses were built, by the time of Queen
Elizabeth I it had become reduced to a single cottage. Having
decided to establish the new town in 1286, Edward I had its plan pegged out to
include streets, building plots and space for a market and a church. By way of
inducement to encourage new settlers to the town, anyone building in the town
would be accorded the same privileges as were enjoyed by the burgesses of
boroughs such as Lyme Regis and Melcombe.
Some must have been
tempted to take up the offer for foundations have been discovered on the site.
The scheme was never a success though
as it seems the trade in Purbeck Stone was not sufficient to allow
Newton
to compete with the
Port
of
Poole
across the Harbour with better land communications and deep-water channels;
there is no record of a church ever having
been consecrated there. .
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