There has been a church in Tatham Fells on this site since at least 1577 and possibly considerably earlier. It was built as a chapel of ease to the church in Lower Tatham and seems to have lasted until 1738 when it was found to be in a ruinous state, so was taken down and rebuilt. A renovation took place in 1840 and photographs at the back of the church show what it was like. The cross in the churchyard marks the altar of the earlier church. The present building dates from 1887-8 and cost £1,200 to construct. It was designed by the Lancaster firm of Austin and Paley. Pevsner observed in 1969 that “the two arches of the tower create a dignity beyond the scale of the building. The roofs with their windbraces are a pleasure too”.
Most of the fabric and furniture dates from this rebuilding though the stained glass windows, the lectern, and the lychgate were added soon afterwards either by local families or by subscription. A few things date from the earlier period: a window on the south side of the sanctuary, the bishop’s chair, the altar rails, the plaques containing the Ten Commandments and Apostle’s Creed at the west end of the Church, and, in the vestry, the old font. The George III coat of arms has been restored and re-hung.
The Church and the community were almost identical so it is fitting in a sheep-farming area that it is dedicated to the Good Shepherd, a fact to which the East window by Shrigley and Hunt, also of Lancaster, bears witness.
Behind the East window is the old Church School, now transferred into the ownership of local trustees. On the north side of the Church the churchyard was extended by a new wall built by parishioners in the 1980s. A car park has also been made, making provision for the many who attend specially large Services and concerts.
The Church was originally lit by oil lamps, then from 1950 by the gaslights which are still here. Electric lighting was installed in the refurbishment of 2000. The present organ replaces the hand-blown one, that was itself a replacement in 1950 for one which is now in Melbourne, Australia, the damp atmosphere of Tatham Fells not being to its liking.
The laying of the foundation stone and consecration of the church were fully covered by the Lancaster Gazette and their reports can be read in the attachments at the bottom of this page.
Memorials and Inscriptions
In 1982 Tatham Fells WI carried out a survey of all the headstones and inscriptions in the churchyard and plotted their position. This research was updated and digitised in 2010 by Richard Wilson of the Tatham History Society and continues to be updated. The link below leads to the relevant section of their website which contains full details, many photographs and a plan of the churchyard:
Tatham Fells Church Monumental Inscriptions