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A Kingdom for a Horse- Heritage
They stand majestic on the hillsides, visible for miles around, but what do we know about the famous white horses carved into the landscape? Looking like that they could gallop off the moment you look away, these huge beasts are a fascinating part of our countryside, yet they have a history that is often difficult to establish.
There are many examples dotted around the country, although Wiltshire is the county for horses, having thirteen at one time or another, eight of which are still visible. Most are chalk carvings and therefore the chalk downs of Wiltshire are ideal. They are however, not of any great antiquity, with most dating to the last 300 years, though origins of some are impossible to establish.
They are usually intended to be seen from below, so the steeper the slope the better for viewing purposes, but whatever the angle, there is always a foreshortening effect and this has to taken into account if it is to be seen in its intended proportions.
So, how do you actually go about cutting a huge design like this into a hillside? Well, the first step is to mark it out, which is not an easy task in itself and there are several methods. One is for a team of people with marker poles to carefully outline the design, whilst a viewer at a suitable viewing point shouts directions. Another method is to use a plan with measurements with fixed points for the outline and a third is to transfer a grid pattern from paper to hillside.
A trench is then cut along the outline and inner soil removed. The underlying chalk is often banked up around edges to avoid crumbling and sometimes shuttering used to further reinforce the edges. Regular maintenance is needed to scour the figure, removing weeds and soil and adding a new layer of chalk and because of this constant upkeep, some of the designs have been lost over the years.
This art of cutting white horses into the hillside, is technically known as Leucippotomy and the term comes from Morris Marples, in his book White Horses and Other Hill figures, published in 1949.
Strange and bizarre folklore often surrounds the horses, one of which is predicting a husband. The idea is that an unmarried girl would count the number of white horses she saw until she reached one hundred, then the first man she shook hands with would one day become her husband. It is also said that several of the horses go to drink at the local pond or springs at the stroke of midnight of the local church clock.
Even the term ‘as different as chalk and cheese’ is said to have connections with the white horse. The land divided by the horse on the Hackpen Hill in Wiltshire is chalk to the south and clay, cattle country to the north. Cheese is a product of the milk from the cattle and therefore is as different as chalk and cheese.
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Westbury is the oldest horse in Wiltshire and offers some of best panoramic views of the county from its hillside location, on Westbury Hill. This horse was apparently first cut in memory of persons who were still living in the area, or who had recently died and was first mentioned in the book Further Observations on the White Horse and other Antiquities in Berkshire by Reverend Wise published in 1742. The title actually refers to the Uffington horse, but the author also refers to a horse here at Westbury, although not the present one and this earlier design may be Saxon in appearance. It was actually in 1778, that Mr George Gee, who was steward to Lord Abingdon, had the horse re-cut to a design nearer the present one and yes, Mr G.Gee was his real name!
Cherhill, is the second oldest in Wiltshire and sits below earthwork known as Oldbury Castle and nearby is the obelisk of the Lansdowne Monument. It’s the work of Dr Christopher Alsop of Calne and once had a very unusual feature, in the form of a glass eye made from upturned bottles, which reflected the sunlight.
The oldest known horse figure is actually over the border in Oxfordshire and the only one of any certain prehistoric origin, at 3000 years old. This horse at Uffington is also the longest at 365 ft, as well as one of only four that face right and it looks over the area now known as the Vale of the Whitehorse. Dating to1400-600 BC makes it of Bronze Age origin and it may have had religious or ritual purpose or may even have been the emblem of a local tribe.
Also near the Uffington horse, is a flat tipped hill, known as Dragon Hill and this horse is meant to represent a dragon rather than a horse, due to its long sleek body. St George apparently killed the dragon on the hill and the patch of chalk on the top of hill is where the dragon’s blood fell.
The Osmington horse in Dorset, is another that also faces right and was cut in 1808 and the figure astride it represents King George III. This one has been cut into limestone, but whitened with chalk and because of the addition of a rider as well, this one can also claim to cover the largest area, being some 320ft high and 280ft long.
There is only one major design in the north of England, in Yorkshire. Known as the Kilburn horse, it caused confusion over the years, as it was referred to by many by several local place names, maybe giving the suggestion that there is more than one in the area. Nearby White Mare Cliff, may have contributed to this confusion. It was cut in 1857, as instructed by Thomas Taylor, on Roulston Scar in the Hambleton Hills, north of Kilburn village. Mr Taylor had seen the horses of Wiltshire on his travels and paid for his friend, School Master John Hodgson and his pupils to mark out the horse. This is also carved in limestone and then covered with chalk. Apart from the Osmington horse, this is officially the largest, as it is a horse only design, measuring 320ft by 220ft high.
There are just two others that reside in the north. One is a small, two metre high horse, painted on a rock face on the Cleadon Hills, south of South Shields and the other is one of the latest designs, constructed in 2000 from concrete, at Heeley Millennium Park, in Sheffield. The very latest horse to be constructed is the Folkestone horse, completed in 2003 on Cheriton Hill in Kent. 
Scotland’s one and only addition, is the Mormond horse on Mormond Hill, north east of the village and constructed of white quartz. It dates back to around 1790.
The more recent additions have been made to mark a coronation, the Millennium or simply because the landowner has a desire for one. Yet the beauty of the simple designs is ageless and whether they reside on chalk hillsides, or are simply painted on rock, their legacy lives on.
© Craig Roberts
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