The Church of the Good Shepherd, Tatham Fells

The Church of the Good Shepherd, Tatham Fells, I called at this summer. I found it an unnecessarily solid, fortress-like building, resembling a castle more than a church. The current building dates from the 1880s when gothic was popular; having a church resemble a castle is not out of keeping with that style. Internally, it is surprisingly light, with a peculiar double chancel arch and the occasional feature from the previous buildings (c1577 and 1840) which were retained after the re-building. This includes some of the wainscoting, memorial slabs and the vestry table which I suspect was once used for communion.

Also in the vestry are photographs of the various incumbents dating as far back as photography itself, yet it was two features in the churchyard which really set me thinking.

The first was a sundial which helpfully dates itself to 1630, stating:

As tho long hours do pafs away

So doth the life of man decay

1630

Long Liffeye to King Charles

(or is it ‘Long Liffe ye to King Charles?’)

The first part is a true enough observation; the second one aged rather badly, seeing as the Parliament lopped off his head 19 years later. His present Majesty is unlikely to have as long a reign as his Stuart namesake, though he has already lived a longer life.

The second peculiar feature is a churchyard cross which marks the site of the previous church’s ‘altar’ (which post-Reformation folk should have called a Communion Table). Two photographs of the old church hang in the vestry along with the smiling parsons. The church has therefore shrunk physically. Britain’s current political situation is remarkably stable, especially when compared to the time of Charles I, yet the Church of God in this land is much diminished, weakened, compromised and apostate. Our King may not be about to lose his head, but the Church may forfeit its lampstand (Rev 2:5).