Westbury White Horse
Westbury White Horse, sometimes referred to as Bratton White Horse, is cut into a steeply sloping hill just below the Iron Age hillfort of Bratton Camp, overlooking the town of Westbury.
The white horse that can be seen today is not the original. The first white horse is believed to have faced to the right and had a long body, short legs and a tail which curved upwards with a fork at the end.
There has been much conjecture over the antiquity of this horse, with some people believing that it had a connection with King Alfred's victory at the Battle of Ethandune in 878, which is thought to have taken place nearby. However, the first reference to the white horse appears in a book written by the Reverend Francis Wise in 1742. His conclusion, on speaking to local people, was that it had been cut within living memory.
As there are no earlier references, it seems likely that the Westbury White Horse was cut in the 17th, or early 18th, century.
The horse that we see today dates from 1778, when Lord Abingdon's steward, Mr Gee, had the old horse remodelled to look more life-like, incorporating the old horse into the design of the new one. The horse stands 54 metres long and 33 metres high, with a large eye and a long tail.
Restoration work was carried out on the horse in 1853 and again in 1873, when the outline was edged with stones and gratings were added to aid drainage. In 1936, concrete was added to the horse, and in 1950 the horse was concreted over.
The best known of the eight white horses that can now be seen in Wiltshire, Westbury White Horse can be seen for miles around, and is a familiar landmark.
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Westbury White Horse
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Other Wiltshire White Horses:
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