White horse

Visited my brother in Wiltshire today. Had a lovely family get together. He lives just down the road from one of the famous Wiltshire white horses.

It is thought that there have been 13 white horses in existence in Wiltshire, but only 8 are still visible today. The first of the Wiltshire white horses is thought to have to appeared in 878AD, and is in Westbury. Although this figure is no longer visible, a new horse was cut on top in 1778.

This horse is located on the steep western slope of westbury Hill, below the Iron Age hill-fort of Bratton Camp. It measures 182 ft x 108 ft. The first Westbury white horse is believed to have been cut to commemorate the victory over the Danes in the Battle of Ethandun (possibly nearby Edington) in 878AD. Local legend says that King Alfred commissioned the cutting of the horse, but had the designer beheaded soon after completion as the horse was said to be riding out of town, and should have been riding into town.

The original Westbury white horse was said to be very different in appearance to the horse that appears today. The earlier horse, if local sketches are to be believed, had short legs and a long heavy body, it wore a saddle and had a tail that pointed upwards.

In 1778, Lord Abingdon's steward, a Mr. George Gee took it upon himself to re-design the Westbury horse and changed the appearance of the landscape for ever more. The old horse was completely lost under this new design, and many branded Gee a Barbarian and vandal.

Restoration of this new figure took place in 1873 and again in 1903. In the 1950's the Blue Circle Cement Works located near by, concreted the horse.