Church of the Good Shepherd

The Church of the Good Shepherd stands on Tatham Fell in Lancashire, a quiet ridge of farmland and moorland in north-west England. Built in 1888–89 by the Lancaster firm Paley, Austin and Paley, it replaced an earlier church from about 1840. The building is made of local sandstone rubble with a stone-slate roof and a small central tower. Inside, the nave and chancel are lit by round-headed windows except the pointed east window. A south porch and a north vestry give shelter at the base of the tower. The church is worth the journey for its clear 19th-century design and its Grade II listing on the National Heritage register. The architects reused 17th-century carving in the lectern, showing how older craftsmanship met new needs. Shrigley and Hunt created the east window around 1905, depicting the Good Shepherd, while the west window followed in 1909. George III’s painted royal arms and late 18th-century Creed boards add layers of history. The single-manual organ, built by Watson Lever and restored in 1980, still plays for services. Visitors find a simple nave and chancel with plain furnishings and soft light through the round-headed windows. The east window’s four-light tracery and the west window’s two-light design stand out against the sandstone walls. The oval slate slab from 1795 and the 17th-century carving on the lectern offer quiet reminders of earlier worship. The tower’s buttresses and louvred bell openings rise above the ridge, visible for miles across the fells. The church remains an active parish centre, its interior calm and its exterior sturdy against the weather.