It could be argued that the Ledbury area does not make enough of its remarkable Mormon heritage.

In an increasingly secular age, it is possible that religious associations of time and place are often overlooked.

And it may seem odd to people walking Ledbury's streets each day to reflect that, for thousands of Americans, they are actually walking in the footsteps of latter-days saints; but that, however, is the perception of countless believers in the Mormon faith.

It is very much to be welcomed, then, that another party of Mormons will be travelling from the USA this May: to visit Ledbury and the surrounding area. It is becoming a regular pilgrimage of sorts, and there are sound historical reasons for their interest.

Here in 1840, the great Mormon leader Brigham Young preached beneath the Market House and in the Baptist Church, and he converted 1,800 people from the Three Counties, most of whom emigrated to the USA.

Other important places locally in the history of Mormonism include the chapel at Gadfield Elm, which is the oldest Mormon chapel in the world, and also a pool at Castle Frome where many converts were baptised in the nineteenth century.

Perhaps it is time for this history to be fully acknowledged with permanent displays in the Butcher Row Museum and the Ledbury Heritage Centre?

Such displays would be a permanent welcome for Mormon visitors from the USA, and they would also serve as fitting reminders of the tough rural people who, through their faith, looked to the USA and saw the Promised Land.