A MEDIEVAL cross, dismantled 150 years ago, is to be rebuilt and placed outside the church at Peter Tavy to mark the millennium.

But there is just one part of the 'jigsaw' missing from the village's project to re-erect the thousand-year-old cross — the vertical shaft.

The vicar of St Peter's Church, the Rev Ian Sykes, said 12 stones had been recovered altogether but the whereabouts of the missing piece remained a mystery.

'It is probably someone's gate-post now,' he said.

The medieval cross was dismantled around 1840 when horses started to pull hearses and found they couldn't turn in the small space in front of the church. It has since lain in pieces propped up against the church wall and some of the stone was actually used to build the wall itself.

'The sad part is although we have done a lot of research, we have not been able to find any record or drawing of the original Peter Tavy cross so we will not be able to build an exact replica as we have not a lot to go on,' said Mr Sykes. 'There are many such crosses around Dartmoor but no basic design.

'It would be wonderful if someone had a private painting or drawing hidden away somewhere.'

The parochial church council, which is behind the project, applied for millennium funding but were unsuccessful. The council has decided to pay for the re-erection which will cost between £1,500 and £2,000. However, the final figure will not be known until a new vertical shaft has been made from Dartmoor granite.

Mr Sykes said: 'One of the great joys of the project is that we discovered the boss stone, which was found in the church wall, has the standard symbols associated with St Peter carved into it. There are cross keys, a fish, an anchor, a salamander, a ram's head and possibly a lion.

'Although the stones have been brushed and washed, we are not allowed to clean them thoroughly with chemicals — the archaeologist would not approve.'

The PCC has applied to Dartmoor National Park for planning permission to re-erect the medieval cross. If successful, it will be placed just outside the church yard before the end of the year.

Village historian Roger Meyrick, who is also treasurer of the PCC, said: 'We are not sure of the exact age of the cross, it could have been a preaching cross which means it pre-dates the church which is Norman.'

Mr Meyrick said the PCC had applied to the parish council for matching funding but hoped to raise money from village events including the fair at the end of the month.

'The Lions Club of Tavistock had already agreed to support us and we were helped by the exhibition and flower show last month. I think we can manage to find the money for the project.'