 Another part, held by the original de Potto family and awarded to different land owners by royal grant, was merged into the Whorlton estate of the Marquess of Ailesbury.In the 19th century, the village was connected by a rail freight line from Swainby to serve the ironstone and jet mines in the area.Potto had a passenger station on the Picton–Battersby line, but its remoteness from the village and the introduction of buses that could take roads direct to Middlesbrough led to its closure in 1954.