Rotherham’s literacy charity Grimm & Co has been built on magical stories and fairytales, but now they’re looking for non-fiction reflections on the building it calls home.
In 2024, Grimm & Co turned a new page when the charity moved into the former Talbot Lane Methodist church and transformed it into something rather special: an Emporium of Stories.
Today, where hymns once echoed through the rafters, children gather for storytelling adventures and school workshops. Curious visitors browse shelves of gifts inspired by books and imagination, while families share conversations over coffee in the welcoming café.
Like all enchanted places, this building has survived because people kept giving it stories. And now, it is asking for more.
As they prepare for next year’s Festival of Stories, the Grimm & Co team is embarking on an ambitious community project to uncover the memories hidden within the building’s walls and share them with future generations.
The charity is inviting people to tell them their stories of the church that will form part of an exhibition and also be stored in their archives.
Perhaps you attended Sunday school there or the popular Tree Club, aka Friendship House, in the 1950s and ‘60s. Maybe you sang in the choir, celebrated a christening or wedding led by Reverend Griffiths, were part of the football team, or simply remember the building as a familiar landmark on your daily walk to and from town.
Whatever your connection, they would love to hear from you. There will be a post box in the Emporium of Stories throughout the summer where you can post your photographs, letters, keepsakes, anecdotes and stories.
Every contribution will help Grimm & Co piece together the remarkable story of a building that has witnessed more than 250 years of community life and ensure the voices of the past remain part of its future.
An original church was built in 1761 before being replaced by a larger church in 1807. However, tragedy struck in 1901 when the new building was destroyed by a fire supposedly caused by a dropped candle that fell down the organ.
The congregation spent two years raising £10,000 to erect a new church. The neo-Gothic building with its 140-feet-tall spire and seating for 850 people opened in 1903 and the church became a place of celebration, comfort, friendship and community.
Sadly, as the congregation numbers dwindled, the grade II listed church closed in 2019 and was put up for sale. Having outgrown their previous home on Doncaster Gate, Grimm & Co saw the opportunity to keep the sense of community alive and continue writing the building’s story.
In July, Grimm & Co enters another phase in its offer of awe and wonder to families as the Emporium of Stories introduces ‘Ever After’. This fairytale role-play area will be a place for little ones to exercise their imaginations and embark on make-believe quests inspired by their favourite stories like the Gruffalo and Alice in Wonderland.
Stories have a magical way of travelling across time and this latest project is yet another way the charity is bringing generations together.
A team of specially trained story sleuths called ‘Grimmvestigators’ will learn the skills of interviewing, listening and collecting oral histories before meeting older members of the community to record their recollections of the church and the lives connected to it.
The stories these young people gather will help inspire artworks, displays and immersive installations created by children, young people and community groups that will be used as part of next year’s Festival of Stories.
The charity hopes the exhibition will become a living storybook of the community – one written not by a single author, but by hundreds of voices.
You can also send your Talbot Lane church stories or photographs via email to heritage@grimmandco.co.uk
