The outline objectives of the Portland Path Project are as follows:-
‘The exploration, preservation and awareness raising of the network of Historic
Railways/Tramways and Pits that made up the Portland Pit Complex. Specifically including the Wharf at Jacksdale, the remains of the Pits at Kirkby -in Ashfield and the connecting Railways/Tramways.’
To that end we are highlighting the path to follow along the route of the old
Railway/Tramway that ran from the Portland Collieries, across Selston and
down to the Wharf at Jacksdale. The route has interpretation boards at specific
locations, mosaics in Selston and a widely available information leaflet, so
people can enjoy retracing the original route of this Railway/Tramway.
The project has recently published a book of academic standard, copies of
which are placed in various Archives for future generations to study and also available for purchase at local outlets or by post via this website at £4.95 each plus p&p.
The project has uncovered many previously unknown details and our work is set to continue for some years yet, particularly in the preservation of the area.
Further information can be obtained from Martyn Taylor-Cockayne, Chairman via the ‘Contact Us’ section of this site.
Cllr Gail Turner and The Chairman of the HLF unveil the new Portland Path mosaics at the Crown Inn, Selston - June 2012
- Portland Path Information Board at Jacksdale Recreation Ground
Click on the links below to download the Portland Path Trail Leaflet and Map:-
Portland Path Trail Leaflet Outer
Portland Path Trail Leaflet Inner
The Portland Path Book - available from MCM, Estates & Lettings, 25 Main Road, Jacksdale, Notts, NG16 5JU Tel 01773 606195 £4.95 plus UK p&p £2.00
Or contact us for more information.
Update July 2013:- The book published by the project is selling well and orders are coming in from all over the UK and also from overseas. All proceeds from the sale of the book will go back into the project towards the upkeep of the mosaics, information boards and trails. In April this year, the Portland Path Project Committee were invited to the Ashfield Districts Council Community Awards Ceremony and were bestowed the title ‘ Community Group of the Year.
In July a review was published in the ‘Railway & Canal Historical Society’ Journal. ‘The Portland Path: an early nineteenth century Nottinghamshire railway and the collieries it served – Martyn Taylor-Cockayne, Stuart Saint & Denis Hill. ISBN 978 9572416 0 2 £4.95. This short book is part of an initiative aimed at promoting interest in historic remains in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire. Funded by the National Lottery, the project has included promot-ing a trail along the tramway route near Selston, including a colourful leaflet. The booklet is part of this project and any profits go back into the whole effort. The Ashfield area is an example of how canals and railways or tramways evolved with close interdependency. Cromford is not far away to the west whilst the Mansfield and Pinxton Railway opened in 1819. The route that is the subject of this book then evolved to connect the Portland collieries, started in the 1820’s, to the canal at Jacksdale, providing an alternative to the Pinxton line. This is a nicely produced publication, providing considerable interest in its coverage of a topic that is of local value but illustrative of national themes. A number of the pictures are specially commissioned for the project but there also many good reproductions of original maps. The railways and their collieries illustrate the transient nature of extractive industries, especially in Nottinghamshire as the industry shifted to deeper mines further east; the line closed in 1894, and this is emphasised in the final pages which show archaeological work on the Jacksdale Basin in 2009 - ADRIAN GRAY, R&CHS Review Editor.
The publication has now been lodged with the Bodleian Library Oxford, the Cambridge University Library, National Library of Wales, National Library of Scotland and the Trinity College Dublin.
