Celebrations are being held in Haworth, the shrine to the Brontes, which have no connection to the great literary family.

Almost 100 years before Patrick Bronte turned up with his family in the bleak Pennine village, it had been home to another preacher who had stamped his fame across the north.

He was the fiery cleric William Grimshaw, a friend of the great non-conformist brothers John and Charles Wesley, and George Whitfield.

His birth 300 years ago is being marked tomorrow at 11am by a free lecture at Hall Green Chapel, in Bridgehouse Lane, Haworth, by biographer Faith Cook.

Grimshaw was in charge of Haworth Church from 1742 until his death at 54, and he was one of the main figures in the 18th century evangelical revival. Patrick Bronte arrived from Thornton, Bradford, in 1820.

It was said Grimshaw’s preaching could “make a nation tremble” and he had Haworth folk on edge, especially the lads in the Black Bull in Main Street – later popular with Branwell Bronte.

He would walk into pubs in the village to demand that the tipplers attend church, but many jumped out of the windows when they saw him coming. Mrs Cook said: “His reputation as the flogging preacher is greatly exaggerated. But he was very fiery and once set about some thugs who assaulted local people trying to get to church.

“He was just the job for the wild and uncouth folk of Haworth at the time. They mocked him at first but loved him in the end.”

Starting with a congregation of only 12 when he arrived in the village, the church was later filled with hundreds inside and out.

People would travel miles to hear him preach and at times scaffolding had to be put up in the graveyard to accommodate the thousands.

“He was so admired that Wesley appointed him to be the leader of the Methodist movement after him, but sadly he died before Wesley,” she said.

For her book, William Grimshaw of Haworth, she re-discovered manuscripts written by Grimshaw, which had been mislaid for years.

“It was a treasure trove of new information which had hardly been explored apart from by a few academics. It was great – literally an open field for me,” she said.

Mick Lockwood, Minister at Hall Green Baptist Chapel, said the aim was to show that Haworth was not just famous for the Brontes but for Grimshaw.

“He was mega-famous at the time – hundreds walked miles to hear him preach. What he did was terrific,” he said.