A corner of yorkshire

M O U N T C RO S S , C O R N H O L M E

Standing 5ft tall in a field at Cornholme, above Todmorden, this is one of the oldest religious memorials in Yorkshire.

The wheel-headed gritstone cross lies next to the Old Causeway, a prehistoric track which formed an early trade route across the Pennines, and some historians have dated it to the seventh century.

Although now known as the Mount Cross, it has been called the Idol Cross since, according to legend, it was once the site of pagan ceremonies. A nearby farmer told a collector of Northern folklore tales that the stone had a history of “uncanny happenings” and the site has long been thought to be haunted.

Towards the bottom of the shaft are what look like faint traces of vine-scroll decorations which some archaeologists believe suggest a later origin. Other markings include an incised calvary cross. One of 350 wayside crosses in England, it is listed as a Scheduled Monument.