Moving house is always a good excuse to do some local history research and that is what I did when I researched the life of William Grimshaw of Haworth. What I didn't expect to find, was that he was a Lancastrian and one of the main figures in the 18th century Evangelical Revival. Without this, it is possible that Patrick Bronte would never have moved to Haworth and we would never have had the Brontë sisters living in the area.
William Grimshaw was born in Brindle, near Chorley, on 14 September 1708, but little is known of his early childhood. Educated at Blackburn Grammar School and Heskin Free School in Lancashire, he entered Christ's College, Cambridge, as a seventeen year old. Working hard for the first two years, he then fell into bad company and changed into a drinking and swearing individual. He intended to become a clergyman— not out of conviction but as a means of a good living.
His first curacy at Rochdale Parish Church was a short one and he soon moved on to nearby Todmorden on the Lancashire / Yorkshire border. Here, he played cards, hunted and fished and slept off his drunkenness before his parishioners saw him. His border parishioners were wild, uncouth, independent, rugged as the hills and superstitious, according to those who travelled through the area! Grimshaw was able to better himself financially, by marrying into a well-to-do family.
Around 1734 an incident occurred when a young couple lost their baby. Unable to provide them with suitable pastoral care, he was only able to tell them to go out and enjoy themselves and forget their sorrow. This was the start of a long, spiritual pilgrimage, which would reform him. He started to study his Bible and spent time in prayer and this brought him a joy that he had not experienced before. His preaching and pastoral care was revitalised and he emphasised the importance of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.
This
life change was to herald the Evangelical Revival which would break out in
the North of England. He moved to Haworth, a Yorkshire
village on the border. It was here that he had a wonderful Anglican parish
ministry. His farmhouse home at Sowdens remains today. Haworth itself had
a high death rate, an average life span of 26 years caused by open sanitation,
and
the easy spread of epidemics. It was a centre for the worsted industry and
the home handloom weavers were rugged and stubborn. They disliked authority,
because
they were often in control of their work output. They supplemented their
income
with poor crops and a few animals.
Arriving in Haworth, Grimshaw had a great passion for souls and their practical well-being. Revival broke out almost immediately. From 12 communicants, his church was soon filled with hundreds inside and hundreds outside. He also cared for those outside his parish by becoming an itinerant preacher. Some clergymen in these adjacent areas were not pleased about this. At this time, there were also itinerant Methodist preachers and it was not long before Grimshaw made friends with John Wesley and George Whitefield. They became the three greatest men of their time. Thousands flocked to hear Grimshaw wherever he went. For those too poor to attend his own church, he had Sunday evening services in his own farmhouse. He learned much from the Methodists, who divided their parishes into societies (classes) and he did the same. Many spiritual conversions took place, so that Haworth changed, morally, spiritually and socially.
His preaching style was plain, powerful, straight,
practical and he used the market language
of his day, but obviously with
a Lancashire accent! The death, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus remained
central to his preaching, which often lasted 2 hours! His passion for people
and
their material and spiritual needs continued to motivate his work. He gave
the ordinary things of life a spiritual meaning, as Jesus had done with his
parables. On his local round he walked, but as he moved farther afield he
became
a well-known sight on a white horse. Although he remained an Anglican all
his life he maintained good contact with the Methodists and the other Christians
around him. He started the first Methodist Church in Haworth in 1758.
He was roughed up many times in his travels, particularly in Lancashire around the Colne, Roughlee and the Barrowford areas. He was manhandled on many occasions, pushed from his horse and had his clothing torn. There is a wonderful description of him falling in the mud, where he landed alongside his wig! A local clergyman often roused mobs to attack him. All this took place at a time when church attendance was compulsory by law and sometimes taverns were illegally open during service times. If the churchwardens didn't do their work properly, he would often bring people back to the service himself, whilst lengthy psalms were sung! He preached 20-30 times weekly.
Besides his preaching, he had a well-organised system of care. He would visit his Haworth round regularly and appointed itinerant lay preachers to help him, called Grimshaw's men. On Sunday, he would take the Haworth church services and then on Monday deal with the matters arising from this ministry. Tuesday to Saturday he visited the other Societies and returned home nightly. During the severe winters he would visit groups within 15-20 miles of his home, and had 2 regular circuits which he visited on alternate weeks.
John Wesley had introduced unordained lay preachers, who crossed parish boundaries, held society meetings in the open air and in preaching houses, but never at the time of Anglican services. There would eventually be a split away of Methodism from its Anglican roots. Grimshaw used a similar strategy and together the Christian message was spread around Lancashire and Yorkshire, as they held the various wings of the Evangelical Revival together.
Although a strong character Grimshaw remained humble and a man of prayer. His Haworth church retained congregations of 400-500 in the winter, enlarging to 1200 in the summer. People like Mrs Gaskell described him as Mad Grimshaw, but I believe they translated passion and vision wrongly. He was a man before his time and modem clergymen would do well to learn from his strategy.
In the spring of 1763, he caught a putrid fever
whilst
visiting his parishioners during an epidemic. He died on 7 April 1763, aged 55
years and was buried at Luddenden Church alongside his first wife. His coffin
was carried by two horses over the moor, followed by crowds of people who
mourned him dearly. Besides the service there, there was also a memorial sermon
preached in London, as well as at Haworth the next day. His coffin bore his
favourite bible verse, For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Had
Grimshaw lived in London and written many books, rather than preaching and
pastorally caring for isolated flocks, it is highly probable that he would
be
more nationally remembered today. Grimshaw would still be fondly remembered
when Patrick Bronte arrived as the next but one incumbent. Sadly, however,
none would
have the open air oratory of William Grimshaw.
What was the legacy he left behind? He reformed Haworth,
by converting the locals and lifting them to a higher social, moral and
religious level. He was their spiritual father and he built the foundations
of the Evangelical Revival. Like many people with vision, he could be misunderstood
easily, but he certainly handed the evangelical torch to those who followed,
because the next generations would spread the Christian message through
missionaries around the world. It is also interesting to read the thoughts
of Ted Hughes, the late Poet Laureate, who remembered Grimshaw's influence,
because he was brought up in nearby Heptonstall. Gradually it dawned
on me
that I was living amongst the survivors.
Not only did Grimshaw have a wonderful preaching and pastoral strategy which could say something today, but he raised the standard of clerical duty as a result, which subsequently reinvigorated the Church of England. His organised lay preacher system had many advantages over clergy only interested in material gain. He was The Apostle of the North, yet died a poor man, but rich in God's sight.
His impact on Lancashire and Yorkshire was great, as he created a spiritual atmosphere before the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. He was a truly great Lancastrian, who has today been forgotten by his native county. A remarkable man, living in an unremarkable place, with a remarkable lifestyle and a life-changing message.
What stories these Lancashire and Yorkshire hills could tell if only they could speak!
© Fulwood Methodist Church
17:24:08 Thursday, 10 April 2008
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