John Turner’s Memorial Stone, Rainow

John Turner, a 29-year-old packhorse driver from Saltersford Hall, perished in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve 1735 after leaving Bollington despite warnings to stay. His body was later found in the snow, but beside him was the single print of a woman’s shoe, giving rise to centuries of speculation. The memorial stone, replaced twice since the original by James Mellor of Hough Hole House, bears this eerie detail on its northern face. No explanation for the mysterious footprint has ever been discovered.