A man who was believed to have been the youngest curate in Bolton before moving to pastures new to work as a vicar says he has "many fond memories" of his time in the borough.

Rev Oliver Preston was previously working at the Hope Centre in Johnson Fold and moved to Haworth in West Yorkshire with his wife and children in July last year after he felt a calling to the role.

In his new role, Oliver oversees three churches in Haworth, St Michael and All Angels Church, St Gabriel's Church in Stanbury and Cross Roads-cum-Lees St James Church

(Image: Oliver Preston)

In 1820, Patrick Bronte, father of the renowned authors, Charlotte Bronte and Emily Bronte, accepted to living of Haworth and moved to the St Michael and All Angels Parsonage with his family.

There are estimated to be 42,000 burials in the graveyard, many of the graves from the time of the Bronte family hold entire families including a number of infants. 

Rev Preston said: “It’s been a big step for me and my family, as all three churches are distinctly different, and they each have unique communities and congregations.

(Image: Oliver Preston)

“Because of the connection to the Bronte sisters, St Michaels attracts thousands of visitors and tourists, so how we welcome them is important.

"Haworth is a beautiful area so it attracts tourists, but this can make it hard to have a sense of local community – which is something we’re working towards.

“Moving to Haworth was a big lifestyle change – we lived in Bolton for 20 years. 

"I’m a big environmental activist and we decided to get rid of our car for 18 months to reduce our carbon footprint – me, my wife and my children would walk everywhere or get the bus.

“When we moved, we had to get a car – which was frustrating for us as we’d managed to adapt without it.”

(Image: Oliver Preston)

As an environmental enthusiast, Rev Preston hopes to use his new position to educate people on the effects of climate change.

In July, he helped host the "Coat of Hopes", a well travelled patchwork coat created to highlight people's "hopes and fears" about the environment in Haworth.

The Coat of Hopes, which is on a tour of the UK, was carried 10 miles (16km) by foot from Bradford Cathedral on Saturday.

He said: “It means a lot to me that these churches are in a beautiful, serene location.

“I want to get people thinking about how we can renew this so it's not just for us but for the future generations and show people how my faith lends to that.

“For some people it’s something they haven’t thought about before, I’m here to lead the community but that’s not about me demanding, but rather to promote conversation and raise wisdom surrounding climate change.”

The 36-year-old vicar said he was "delighted" at the move to Haworth but said it was a “difficult decision” to move from his previous position at Johnson Fold.

He said: “I want to get across that the decision to leave Johnson Fold was not an easy one and I have so many fond memories of my time there, the people I worshipped alongside and the church.

“It’s an important part of my journey that I remember fondly. Everywhere has got something that makes it special, whether it’s this big literary name or a beautiful high street.

“It was the right place for me at the right time.”

Rev Preston added he is “delighted” to be in his position and reinforces the importance of churches and the work they do in the community as well as their role in tackling big questions.

He added: “To do this, we’ve created a shorter and more informal service to connect with people to create a more open space. We’re utilising on more modern methods of communication and social media.

“At the moment, my main goal is to offer services that connect with parts of the community that the church has traditionally struggled to reach, such as teenagers and young families.

“I have a young family myself – my children are aged ten and six, so these people are my peers, my kids are at school with them and for a lot of people it’s powerful that a vicar can be as young as me, we don’t all look the same.

“I want to showcase the church as welcoming so that people feel comfortable to ask questions.”