 According to Tyler, Knothill was one of the first Gypsum sites in Cumbria

The station is named after the nearest village, Cotehill, but this is away and extremely small.It is closer to the site of Englethwaite Hall which was built by John Thomlinson in 1879 but demolished by 1969, the site now being the location of a Caravan Club campsite.It is clear from the map that the sparse local population could not have sustained a railway station.