Description: Writing in 1907, Rev. J Charles Cox gave a description of an old wayside cross which he had seen at Martinside, on the high road between Dove Holes and Chapel-en-le-Frith: 'The height of its squared base was 20 inches and it measured at the top 28 inches by 26.5 inches. In the centre was an empty shaft socket 11 inches by 9 inches by 8 inches deep. The south side of the mortise hole has been broken away, but the mortise hole is unmistakable. A small channel cut from the edge of the socket to an angle of the base stone seemed to be original and may possibly have served as a pointer to the next boundary stone.' When Neville T Sharpe, author of The Crosses of Derbyshire (Landmark, 2000), went in search of the cross that had been described in such detail by Cox, he couldn't locate it. He reported, 'A careful search of the roadside and wall in June 2000 failed to find even a trace of stones which might once have served as part of a cross shaft or base.' When former parish councillor Denis Hill read this account, he realised that Sharpe's search had been unsuccessful because he was looking in the wrong place. The author had understandably concentrated his efforts on an area near the summit of the hill, knowing that wayside crosses were usually placed in a prominent location so that approaching travellers could catch an early sight of them, but Denis remembers that the parish council took a decision some 30 years ago to re-locate the cross several yards further down the hill, because it had become vulnerable to damage from snow ploughs. However, searches of the verges some distance below the summit failed to unearth the monument until Dove Holes historian Jenny Nicholson came up with vital information. Jenny told parish councillors that she knew the precise location of the monument and she even went to the trouble of removing the earth and long grass that had hidden it from view for so long. The newly exposed cross base has an appearance that matches Rev. Cox's description in every detail. Delighted to have uncovered this ancient monument, which has been dated as pre-Norman by archaeologists, parish councillors have decided to erect a plaque by the cross with a description of its history. Some local people have now come up with a story that the shaft of the wayside marker may have been plundered many decades ago for use as a farmer's gatepost. (information from www.chapel-en-le-frithparishcouncil.gov.uk)