Brief History of the Shepherd's Rest Inn...

Prior to becoming one of the most popular restaurant Inns in the Pennines, the Shepherd's Rest was firstly a homestead and then in 1846 James Greenwood established it as a museum which was so popular that he moved to larger premises in Accrington in 1859. William Butterworth then purchased it, obtained a beer licence, and named it the Shepherd's Rest. In the 1930's it was extended to provide a shop and café for travellers and locals. Fine food and ales have been served ever since.

The Stoodley Pike Monument, which can be seen on the hill opposite, was built to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo but fell down in 1854. The present Pike dates from 1856. If you go exploring take a torch to help climb the dark staircase on to the balcony.

The landlord of the Shepherds Rest, Owen Winfield, with his wife and son, Fred, outside the inn c.1931. The Winfields kept the Shepherds Rest from 1930 to around 1943. Previously they lived at nearby Croft Gate where they ran a small shop and refreshment house for many years. Owen Winfield began work as a cow boy on a farm at Lowerhouse at the age of eight. When he was fourteen he left farming to go into the engineering industry, in which he worked for almost 45 years, both in the USA and Todmorden.

Acknowledgement - photo and caption from Todmorden Album Volume 2 by Roger Birch, published in 1987 by the Woodlands Press. [weblink: Todmorden Album website]