 On 1 August 1861, the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway Company was incorporated in accordance with an Act of Parliament authorising the construction of a railway between Cockermouth and the London and North Western Railway's West Coast Main Line at Penrith.The line's civil engineering works were designed by Thomas Bouch, including Keswick station.In 1862, the company’s stations committee decided that the station should accommodate its main offices.