What is now the Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd, Harrietsham was originally built in 1881 as an Anglican Mission Church for the workers employed on the construction of the London to Dover Railway.

After the railway was completed, the whole building became a Mission Church in the 19th century meaning of the term, that is, it tended to be used by the working people of the village, whereas the “gentry” went to the much older Parish Church of St John the Baptist.

After the Second World War, the Church of St John the Baptist was repaired and less and less use was made of the Church of the Good Shepherd. By the mid-1960s the sale of the church was being actively considered. After lengthy negotiations, the sale was finally agreed and the Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd came in to use about the year 1970 as part of the Maidstone parish.

Learn more about the history of the parish here

The Good Shepherd Church Zentangled!

By parishioner and local artist Shelagh Oates

 

The Good Shepherd Church

Rectory Lane (Off East St.)
Harrietsham
Maidstone
Kent ME17 1HS