Grimm and Co, Rotherham: Meet the woman who has transformed an old Yorkshire church into a magical world of stories for children

“If you want the magical side, I'll explain to you that Graham Grimm started this in 1148. Just before lunchtime. He was the son of Enoch Grimm. Now, Enoch Grimm was a bit of a philanthropist, but also very entrepreneurial. And he sent Graham out to find his fortune.

“Graham came across a Bogle, and he sat down with him and had a cup of tea – Yorkshire Tea, of course – and they discussed where they'd been, and the Bogle said, ‘Well, I've been gathering stories, because magical beings need stories’.

“And Graham says, ‘Why do you need stories?’ and the Bogle says ‘Well, like you need food and you need sunshine, we need stories. That's how we thrive. That's how we get our energy’.

“So Graham says, ‘Oh, hang on a minute. If I open somewhere and sold stories to you, would you come?’

“The Bogle said, ‘Oh they'd have to be really good. They need to come from young people, you know, because they do the best stories. So yes, if you did that, if you had a place where children and young people created those stories, we’d be flocking there on our broomsticks!”

And with those words Deborah Bullivant, founding chief executive of Grimm & Co, throws open the doors to an “Apothecary to the Magical”, in Rotherham town centre.

If you have made it this far, then stay with us because Grimm & Co could be the best, most inspiring and educational place you and your children, or grandchildren, visit this year.

Deborah is taking us on a tour of what was Talbot Lane Methodist church, which stands opposite Rotherham Town Hall.

Since buying the premises on the day the country went into lockdown almost four years ago, she and her team have been painstakingly renovating the beautiful old building ready for opening to the public in March.

Grimm & Co isn’t a new concept. It began in 2014 as a pop-up venture on Corporation Street before moving into its first headquarters in a former pub on the corner of Doncaster Gate and Wellgate on February 29, 2016.

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Growth and popularity meant the search for bigger premises and, after a temporary stay in the Old Town Hall, the former church site on Ship Hill was identified.

“Our mission is on the wall as you come in, it’s changing lives one story at a time. We empower children, young people, we unleash imaginations, and we celebrate stories,” says Deborah. “Where we were before, we couldn't meet demand, and that was just through word of mouth. Teachers were telling teachers so school groups would be coming to us. And we were fully booked up.”

With funding via the Arts Council and private donations, Grimm & Co is a charity which aims to improve the lives of young people through storytelling.

The building – although not yet entirely finished – is magical. The high vaulted ceilings give an awe-inspiring sense of space and perspective and it genuinely feels like you are in another world.

Without giving away too many secrets, there are several hidden rooms that are so well concealed that even after you have been in the first one, you are still shocked to discover that what looks like a dead end is in fact another gateway.

“This was a disused church where the congregation had dwindled to such a degree that they weren't using it at all. Its original use in 1905 was mostly as a Sunday school and also a community venue,” says Deborah.

“It has always had a community element and a learning element, so we have really brought the original purpose back to life.

“Any family who comes in, any adult, young person, will get an experience that links back to this mission. That it’s all about stories.

“You'll get that, from the stuff we sell in the apothecary, right through to sitting down there in our cafe or coming to a children’s party. By doing that, you’re also supporting the charitable work.

“The charitable work is all about social cultural literacies. It's not only reading and writing and punctuation and grammar, and all of that. It's much bigger. It's about the children learning about the world around them, and their place in it and building their own positive narrative within that.

“That’s why we do aspiration building. We build children’s resilience, their self-esteem, their confidence in themselves, as well as their skills as writers.”

Deborah’s dream of a place like Grimm & Co is the outcome of a working lifetime spent in teaching and education. And an upbringing filled with stories and creativity from inspiring grandmother who guided her through a difficult childhood on the Park Hill flats in Sheffield.

“I was working nationally in education when I got the role of director of a Yorkshire Forward- funded project to explore what would make the biggest difference in children’s literacy in Rotherham,” she adds.

“We were looking at Rotherham as an area to see what would make the greatest difference, especially to those most marginalised children. And we found the solution as I was commissioning lots of creative activities.

“In that time I was based in the local authority so I could see the data, I could see the shifts, and we measured it in lots of ways, but especially around their reading and writing. We saw some huge changes, some real transformations happen, which were high percentages of changes for those in the 10 per cent most disadvantaged areas of Rotherham.

“It was 23 per cent change with children who had English as an additional language. For boys, it was an 18 per cent difference. And this has never happened before. Never. And I could see this transformation in the children themselves.”

As well as the professional, Deborah’s own story makes it easy to see why Grimm & Co is such a passion. “I didn't have the easiest childhood, but my grandmother, Ivy Ibbotson, raised me and she was she was just full of creative approaches,” she says.

“She was very much involved in the community. She used to understand the need for stories and the imagination and the importance of it. What did Einstein say? He said imagination was more important than intellect.

“And so throughout my childhood, even though things did go wrong at times, my Nan raised me. I started off on Park Hill flats, and times weren't always easy.

“The thing that I had to hold on to the whole way through was a strong literacy base, based on a creative approach that motivated me. I loved reading, always but Nan also took me to lots of different things, lots of theatrical stuff.

“We were completely skint but I was literacy rich. That has helped me through everything in my life. Not only have I invested me in it but I have also always understood the importance of literacy.”

Grimm & Co has Friends of Grimm events on Thursday April 4 and Saturday April 6 at 10am and 2pm, with activities and tours of the space.

The ones on April 4 will be 'closed door' events, but on Saturday April 6, the shop will be open as well as the free bookable tours.

Friday April 5 is the opening of the shop and cafe, with creative writing activities.

And Thursday May 23 is the big 'thank you!' event.

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