The Church of the Good Shepherd

155 Wyllys Street + Hartford, Connecticut 06106

(860) 525-4289

Welcome Visitors

The Church of the Good Shepherd is a diverse community of faith and hope committed to worshipping and serving God in the midst of the city.  In our historic parish we seek through Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, to grow spiritually, to care for one another, and to reach out to our neighbors.

The Church of the Good Shepherd was built through the generosity of Elizabeth Colt, widow of arms manufacturer Colonel Sam Colt.  It was built as a memorial to her husband and to three of their children who died in infancy, and dedicated in January of 1869.

In the west wall at the rear of the church is located the great memorial window.  The left panel depicts Joseph, who was sold into slavery in Egypt by his jealous brothers, but who became very rich and successful, distributing grain to the needy in time of famine.  Dedicated to the memory of Sam Colt, the window expresses the sense of duty which Elizabeth Colt felt toward this community.  The right panel depicts Jesus the Good Shepherd with three sheep and is dedicated to the memory of the three children.  At the top in the arch is a feminine image of God, the “Angel of Peace,” holding three babies to her bosom.

Above the altar of the church is a set of windows depicting the twelve apostles.  In the center is Jesus at the last supper blessing and distributing the bread, his body given for all.

To the south (right) of the altar is located the baptismal font.  It is in the form of three children holding a shell, and was given by Mrs. Colt’s sister in memory of the three children who died in infancy.

To the north of the church is the chapel.  It was originally constructed to house the parish Sunday School.  The windows contain an image of the Child Jesus and scripture texts deemed especially suitable for the young.

This structure is markedly different from Hartford’s earlier churches designed to be filled with light.  The Victorian architects held that architecture should reflect life, and that since life is full of so many shadows, a beautiful building should be full of shadow, as well.  And yet there are many points at which the light breaks into the shadow: the windows symbolizing God’s Light, and the bright brass of the eagle shaped lectern which holds the Bible, the Word of God.

Edward Tuckerman Potter (the architect of the Mark Twain House in Hartford) was engaged as architect for the church in High Victorian Gothic Revival style.  Potter believed in embellishing his edifices with decorative details related to his patron’s life, and Good Shepherd bears stone images of gun barrels, pistol handles, and other details of the gun making craft which decorate the crosses and other religious symbols carved on its exterior.

Like so many of the great cathedrals of Europe, the church’s foundation is supported by wooden pilings driven into the soil beneath.  After two disastrous floods in the mid-1930’s, dikes were constructed around the city to control the waters of the Connecticut River.  As a result, the pilings began to dry and to rot, the foundation began to deteriorate, and the 150 foot tower began noticeably to lean.  The church was condemned for some years in the early 1970’s, while the foundation was reinforced with concrete and steel.

In an ever changing neighborhood which has hosted wave after wave of immigrants to this country, Good Shepherd has endeavored to maintain a constant witness to the all-embracing love of Jesus Christ.