The station was opened in 1867. It was a private station solely for the use of the Ballentine-Dykes family of Dovenby Lodge, one of whom was Chairman of the Maryport and Carlisle Railway in the 1840s.[5]
The station is variously referred to as "Dovenby", "Dovenby Park" and "Dovenby Lodge"; an image of a ticket bearing the name Dovenby Lodge is included in the standard work on non-public stations.[6] Letters exchanged in 1868 between the family and the railway concern a parcel of land and a lodge at the station.[7]
The station was available for use until the line closed in 1935, though it never appeared in public timetables. Unusually for those times the tracks were lifted not long after closure, with a tragic consequence; when a bridge was being demolished a girder fell on two men and killed them.[8]
Afterlife
In 2020 the station was in use as a dwelling.[5][9]
Jones, Allan (October 2020). Peascod, Michael (ed.). "The Derwent Branch of the Maryport and Carlisle Railway". Cumbrian Railways. 13 (8). Pinner: Cumbrian Railways Association. ISSN1466-6812.
Colman, C. V. (January 1982). Peascod, Michael (ed.). "Passenger Services on the Bolton and Derwent Branches". Cumbrian Railways. 2 (9). Pinner: Cumbrian Railways Association. ISSN1466-6812.
Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC22311137.