Visitors arriving to see the baptismal pond

It is the time of year when we start to get lots of visitors to the pond. They come to visit from all over the world.

Rain swells mormon pond

The high rainfall recently has swelled the size of the Mormon pond outside of the railings. The visitors are starting to return for another year.

March continues like a lion

The weather has been pretty wild for our farm walks this Easter weekend. We have had to wrap up warm! and definitely not for elegance.

The recent rain has added to the water in the "Mormon" pond (see photo). It was in early March 1840 that the converts were baptised - must have been pretty cold if it was anything like the weather that we are currently experiencing!

Morris and Maggie the pest controllers also took a well-earned Easter break (see photo). They seem to like the chair by the computer the most for a quick power nap!

Farm visit

We were visited by 80 members of the Church of Latter Day Saints, otherwise known as Mormons. They were in the UK from the US and were following in the footsteps of the LDS missionary Wilford Woodruff who was born 200 years ago in 1807. We set up a display of historic information about the farm and the Mormon Connection and it was a great day. One of the photos also shows some old hop sacks. We used to fill them with around 75 kg of dried hops, and they were then sown up by hand, numbered with an old metal stencil and then sent to the brewers to make beer.

Mormon connections

We had a steady stream of visitors during April who came to visit the farm and primarily the baptism pond, which is a historic church site. In March 1840, the American missionary Wilford Woodruff came to the farm and after meeting the farmers, John and Jane Benbow, proceeded to convert them and over 600 local people to the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Many were baptised at Hill Farm. The Benbows went over to the US and undertook the trek to Utah, sadly Jane Benbow died on the journey in Nebraska.

We have many visitors from all over the world who come to see the pond and other local LDS historic sites.

More of the story in another poultrydiscussion post!