Avenham Park in Preston was opened by the Duke of Cambridge in 1867. Running through the bottom of the park is the River Ribble – where the first LDS baptisms in Britain were performed, and in the heart of the park is a Japanese garden within which lie four plaques mentioning the church. It seems quite fitting that this park, which has such rich Mormon connections, was created because of cotton. I told you cotton permeated everything here! Okay, here’s what happened: