The White Horses of the Chilterns
Chalk Carvings in Wiltshire and the Surrounding Countryside
Oct 14, 2009
The Chiltern Hills are a chalk escarpment laid down during the last ice age. Parts of the Chilterns which stretch across the counties of Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire were designated as areas of outstanding natural beauty in 1965 and are sometimes referred to as the White Horse Hills.
The name White Horse Hills is quite apt. Taking the town of Marlborough as a central point, in a radius of 20 miles there are 7 horses carved in the chalk hills. This is not a phenomena restricted to this area as there are 24 horses across Britain as a whole. The horses vary in size, with some viewable from distances of 3-4 miles although others can be seen from much further afield.
The craft of cutting turf goes back hundreds of years, but unless the exposed chalk is kept clear from grass the design can easily be obliterated. Most of the Chiltern horses look remarkably similar although this is not the case with the oldest chalk horse found in Uffington.
The Uffington Horse
The Uffington horse was believed to date back to the reign of Alfred the Great (d 899 AD). Indeed, Saxons did embroider the image of a white horse on their banners and paint it on their shields. Local legends record the chalk horse as being carved to commemorate one of Alfred's victories over the Danes. Or that it was cut by local people as the Danes migrated northwards to act as a giant 'signpost' indicating the borders of Alfred's territory.
However archaeologists have unearthed coins which date back to the Iron Age carrying depictions resembling the Uffington horse. The idea that the carving was a lot older than first believed was substantiated in 1995 with the development of optical stimulated luminance dating (OSL) which can determine how long soil has been hidden from sunlight. The outline of the Uffington horse was formed by digging trenches which were filled with chalk. The OSL technique determined that the lower levels of chalk had been buried as long ago as 800 BC, dating the horse to the Iron Age.
The Uffington horse was first mentioned in a manuscript from the reign of Henry II, and then again in local records from the 1800s which mentions a festival held every 7 years. Local people gathered to restore the horse during the festival which also hosted a communal picnic and fair. By 1857 the festival had ceased and the horse would have disappeared, but for a local benefactor, Lady Craven, who paid for the carving to be restored.
The Westbury Horse
The second oldest horse, (although it is the oldest in Wiltshire), can be found in Westbury. It was re-cut in 1778 by George Gee, a steward in the employ of Lord Abingdon. It is said that he re-modelled an older horse which had been cut around 1700 AD, but it was allegedly such a poor depiction of a horse that in George Gee's opinion, it could not be recognised as a horse. The horse has been cut into the slope of Westbury Hill and is 182 feet in length and 108 feet high.
The Marlborough Horse
The Marlborough or Preshute horse is the smallest of the chalk horses. It is only 62 feet long and 47 feet wide. It was cut in 1804 by the pupils from a local boy's school, Mr Greasley's Academy. William Canning is the student credited with designing the horse which lies on a shallow slope of Grantham Hill. Due to its relatively small size the best view is from a footpath running from Preshute House.
The Alton Barnes White Horse
The horse at Alton Barnes has been cut into the slope of Milk Hill to the east of Alton Barnes. It is 162 feet in length and was commissioned by a local farmer, Robert Pile in 1812. Local artist John Thorne was chosen to design and cut the horse and was paid £20 for his trouble, but he absconded with the money before the work was completed.
The Cherhill Horse
The Cherhill or Oldbury horse is the 2nd oldest chalk horse in Wiltshire. It was cut in 1780 by Dr. Christopher Alsop of Calne. Dr. Alsop is reported to have shouted instructions through a megaphone from the village while men working on the horse marked out the shape with white flags prior to cutting. It had a distinguishing feature in that its eye was filled with bottles during the late 1800s which caused it to sparkle in the sunlight. The horse was cut near the location of a battle fought between Egbert, King of the West Saxons and Ceolwulph, King of the Mercians in 821 AD.
The Hackpen Horse
The Hackpen horse is named after the down on which it has been cut. It is also known as the Winterbourne Basset or the Broad Hinton Horse. It was cut in 1838, the year after Queen Victoria's accession to the throne and is believed to have been cut to commemorate that.
The Pewsey Horse
This is the youngest of the Chiltern White Horses. It is just 65 feet in length. The original horse was cut in 1785 but that fell into disrepair and was eventually obscured. The new horse was cut on the slope of Pewsey Hill to commemorate the coronation of King George VI in 1937. George Maples, an authority in chalk figures, was approached to design the horse. He produced 3 drawings, one of which is the horse which can be seen today. The horse was cut by volunteers from Pewsey Fire brigade. Although the horse is well maintained, the date which was also cut into the hill has disappeared.
All of the chalk horses require regular maintenance to ensure they continue to be visible to locals and visitors to the area alike.
Sources:
- Princess Tina's Pony Book, Published by Fleetway
- Wiltshire White Horses.org
- Weird Wiltshire.co.uk
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