The official listing of the market cross by Historic England states ‘the cornice-like stone at the top was added in 1833, when the old steps were removed’.

[1] However, other accounts suggest the steps were removed, and the current brick base built, in the 1870s, at the time St Andrew's Church was being restored.

However, Colonel R. V. Gwynne, the chairman of Eastbourne magistrates, realised that the stonework of an ancient tithe barn which stood on his land in the grounds of Wilmington Priory was an almost exact match both in colouring and texture.

[8] (A report about the restoration of the cross in the Eastbourne Gazette of Wednesday 7 December 1955 noted that ‘When the Sussex Archaeological Trust took over the maintenance of Wilmington Priory it considered the ancient [tithe] barn to be too advanced in decay to be taken over, and some time ago Colonel Gwynne had the colossal oak beams dismantled and placed in store'.

[8]) To minimise the potential damage from future accidents, a solid concrete base was constructed within the rebuilt brick plinth, and the metal core of the shaft, inserted when it was last repaired, was retained.

[12] The ‘County Diary’ feature in the Sussex Agricultural Express of Friday 10 August 1956 noted that ‘The new shaft looks thicker than the original because the old one was worn by the years.

[13] In the Sussex Extensive Urban Survey (EUS) Historic Character Assessment Report for Alfriston (March 2008), the author, Roland Harris, remarked ‘The market cross at Alfriston may be a late medieval survival, although with a strong hint of the ship of Theseus paradox’; however, he recognised that ‘Notwithstanding the rebuilding, the cross is a rare feature … within Sussex’.