TRAVEL WITH WILLIAM GRIMSHAW
The man who saw God transform Haworth
By Fred Perry
Day One. £9.99
ISBN 1 903087 68 6
There has been, happily, a recent growth of interest in the life of William Grimshaw, with Faith Cook's biography and Esther Bennett's Heavenly Fire, both excellent reads. This book is a welcome addition, with its combination of biography and a guide to geographical locations associated with Grimshaw. The most impressive thing about it is its presentation. The dozens of colour photographs, drawings and maps make it a very attractive book and will, I hope, encourage a greater appreciation of Grimshaw. Perhaps even encouraging a few more visitors to Haworth.
Because of the brevity of the book, it is understandable that some of the more eccentric incidents in Grimshaw's colourful ministry are emphasised. Fred Perry refers to the tale of Grimshaw using a horse whip to drive his parishioners into worship. This story seems to be based on very slender evidence however, and the problem with such a short biography is there is hardly room to mention any sources, let alone assess their reliability.
One personal disappointment was that, although each church building in Haworth is carefully mapped and photographed, there is one exception: Hall Green Baptist Chapel, the one place left in Haworth where Grimshaw's message is still preached, was omitted.
Overall, however, the book captures not only something of the work of Grimshaw, but also the atmosphere of the north of England.
