Hill figure

The Long Man of Wilmington situated on the South Downs, Sussex

A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. It is a type of geoglyph usually designed to be seen from afar rather than above. In some cases trenches are dug and rubble made from material brighter than the natural bedrock is placed into them. The new material is often chalk, a soft and white form of limestone, leading to the alternative name of chalk figure for this form of art.

Hill figures are common in England: examples include the Cerne Abbas giant, the Uffington White Horse, the Long Man of Wilmington, various badges of military units as well as the "lost" carvings at Cambridge, Oxford and Plymouth Hoe.

History

The creation of hill figures has been practised since prehistory and can include human (gigantotomy) and animal forms (cutting horses is known as "leucippotomy") as well as more abstract symbols and, in the modern era, advertising brands.

The reasons for the creation for the figures are varied and obscure. The Uffington Horse probably held political significance, since the figure dominates the valley below. It probably dates to the British Iron Age since coins have been found exhibiting the symbol. The Cerne Abbas giant might have been a work of political satire.^[1] or perhaps a pagan emblem. Wiltshire is a county with a large number of White Horses; 14 have been recorded.^[2] The figures are usually created by the cutting away of the top layer of relatively poor soil on suitable hillsides. This exposes the white chalk beneath, which contrasts well with the short green hill grass, and the image is clearly visible for a considerable distance. Despite most of the figures being of great age, many are relatively new. Devizes in Wiltshire created a large white horse for the 2000 Millennium celebrations and in October 2009 celebrated this with an aerial photo of volunteers making the figure 10 for an aerial photo.^[3]

Figures must be maintained to remain visible, and local people often work regularly to restore or maintain a local landmark, though, two cuttings of military badges at Sutton Mandeville, Wiltshire, are becoming lost. A map of Australia at Compton Chamberlayne, Wiltshire, was lost in 2005.

Similar pictures exist elsewhere in the world, for example the Nazca Lines in Peru, however these were made in the desert, not on grassy hillsides, so they don't become overgrown, and thus survive much longer without human maintenance.

Lost figures

Since hill figures must be maintained by the removal of regrown turf, only those that motivate the local populace to look after them survive. Ancient figures all have an associated fair or ceremony that involves maintaining them.

Unmaintained figures gradually fade away.^[4] Firle Corn at Firle Beacon, Sussex could be a lost figure. Its existence is suggested by infrared photography. If it is a lost figure, its age is uncertain, and unlikely prehistoric in origin, as only one figure in the UK has been shown to be of this age, the Uffington White Horse.

There have been horses at Devizes and Pewsey, both in Wiltshire, that have been lost but replaced by new ones in the 20th century.

According to the Hillfigure Homepage, there have been 19 military badges at Fovant that have been lost, although a 'YMCA' badge and a map of Australia at Compton Chamberlayne have also become lost recently.

Some of the most significant figures

England

Alton Barnes white horse, Wiltshire (1812)map 1 Broad Town white horse, Wiltshire (1864)map 2 Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne, Kent (1993)map 3 Bulford Kiwi, carved by New Zealand soldiers at Sling Camp in 1919map 4 Cerne Abbas giant, Dorsetmap 5 Cleadon Hills white horse, Cleadon, Tyne and Wear (before 1887) Old Devizes white horse, or the Snobs' horse, Wiltshire (1845) New Devizes white horse, Wiltshire (1999)map 6 Cherhill White Horse, Wiltshire (1780)map 7 Compton Chamberlayne Australia map, Wiltshire (1916, lost 2005) Folkestone White Horse, Kent (2003)map 8 Fovant badges, Wiltshiremap 9 Hackpen or Broad Hinton or Winterbourne Bassett white horse, Wiltshire (1838?)map 10 Hindhead white horse, Surrey (before 1913, lost) Ham Hill or Inkpen white horse, Wiltshire (1865–1877) Kilburn White Horse, Yorkshire (1857)map 11 Lenham Memorial Cross, Kent (1922)map 12

Old Litlington (Alfriston) white horse, Sussex (c.1838) New Litlington white horse, Sussex (1925)map 13 Marlborough White Horse (or Preshute White Horse), Wiltshire (1804)map 14 Osmington White Horse, Dorset (c.1808)map 15 Old Pewsey White Horse, Wiltshire (1785) New Pewsey white horse, Wiltshire (1937)map 16 Rockley white horse, Wiltshire (discovered 1948, now lost) Shoreham, Kent memorial cross, Kent (1920) Sutton Mandeville military badges, Wiltshire (1916, to be lost soon) Tan Hill white horse, Wiltshire (lost) Uffington White Horse (Bronze Age, 1400 BC to 600 BC)map 17 Westbury White Horse (in the parish of Bratton), Wiltshire (before 1742)map 18 Whipsnade white lion, on the Dunstable Downs, Bedfordshire (1931)map 19 The Whitehawk hawk, in Sheepcote Valley on the South Downs, east of Brighton, Sussex (2001)map 20 Whiteleaf Cross, Monks Risborough, Buckinghamshire (earliest ref. 1742) map 21 Wye Crown, Kentmap 22 Long Man of Wilmington, Sussex (c. 16th century)map 23

Scotland

• Mormond Horse, on the south-west flank of Mormond Hill, about 10 mi (16 km) from Fraserburgh, Aberdeen.^[5][6]
• Mormond White Stag, on the other side of the hill from the Mormond Horse. About 10 mi (16 km) from Fraserburgh, Aberdeen.^[7]

Photographic gallery

English hill figures

The Cerne Abbas giant near Cerne Abbas   The Cherhill White Horse near Cherhill   The Kilburn White Horse near Kilburn, North Yorkshire   Lenham Cross on the North Downs   Uffington White Horse at Uffington, Oxfordshire   The Westbury White Horse near Westbury, Wiltshire   The Whipsnade Zoo lion near Whipsnade   Wye Crown   Watlington White Mark   Two of the Fovant badges   The Bulford Kiwi near Bulford   Whiteleaf Cross   Osmington White Horse near Weymouth, Dorset   Folkestone White Horse on Cheriton Hill, Folkestone   The Groudle Glen railway station with the hill figure of "GROUDLE" next to it.   Alton Barnes White Horse

Drawings gallery

English hill figures

The Cherhill White Horse in 1892.   The Westbury White Horse in 1772 (Top) and as re-cut in 1778 (Bottom).   The Uffington White Horse in 1885.   Layout of the Long Man of Wilmington   Layout of the Uffington White Horse   Layout of the Cerne Abbas giant   An unspecified white horse

Hill figures in fiction

• The Ballad of the White Horse by G. K. Chesterton
• The Scouring of the White Horse by Tom Hughes
• Sun Horse, Moon Horse by Rosemary Sutcliff
• Witch Hill by Marcus Sedgwick
• Find the White Horse by Dick King-Smith
• The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
• The Dark Is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
• The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
• The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King
• The Westbury White Horse is mentioned in the novel The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, but was not featured in the film of the novel.
• The Undying Monster by Jessie Douglas Kerruish

Hill figures in film

• Westbury White Horse features in the music video for "Breathe" by Midge Ure (alongside a temporary figure of the sun)
• Alton Barnes White Horse features in the music video for "Staying Out for the Summer" by Dodgy
• Cherhill White Horse features in the music video for "Doctorin' the Tardis" by The Timelords
• Uffington White Horse (animated versin) features in the music video for "Sonnet" by The Verve
• Untitled large temporary white horse in Robin Hood (2010 film.

See also

• Leucippotomy
• English folklore
• Anglo-Saxon paganism
• Flag of Wiltshire
• White horse (mythology)
• Hillside letters, a similar type of geoglyph common in the Western U.S., but using letters instead of figures

References

1. ^ Cerne Abbas Giant, Dorset
2. ^ Wiltshire White Horses
3. ^ Roundway Hill and covert, Oliver's castle and Millennium White Horse
4. ^ List of lost figures
5. ^ Bergamar, Kate (1997). Discovering Hill Figures. Pub. Shire. ISBN 0-7478-0345-5. P. 7 - 9.
6. ^ Plenderleath, Rev. W. C. (1892). The White Horses of the West of England. Pub. Allen & Storr, London. P. 38.
7. ^ Bergamar, Kate (1997). Discovering Hill Figures. Pub. Shire. ISBN 0-7478-0345-5. P. 10 - 12.

Bibliography

• Bergamar, Kate (1997). Discovering Hill Figures. Pub. Shire. ISBN 0-7478-0345-5.
• Newman, Paul (1997). "Lost Gods of Albion: The Chalk Hill-Figures of Britain (2nd ed.)", Pub. Sutton, ISBN 0-7509-1563-3.
• Plenderleath, Rev. W. C. (1892). The White Horses of the West of England. Pub. Allen & Storr, London.

Mapping

^map 1 Alton Barnes white horse, 51°22′20.81″N 001°50′53.49″W / 51.3724472°N 1.8481917°W / 51.3724472; -1.8481917 (Alton Barnes white horse) ^map 2 Broad Town white horse, 51°30′11.86″N 001°51′33.23″W / 51.5032944°N 1.8592306°W / 51.5032944; -1.8592306 (Broad Town white horse) ^map 3 Battle of Britain Memorial, 51°05′54.05″N 001°12′22.03″E / 51.0983472°N 1.2061194°E / 51.0983472; 1.2061194 (Battle of Britain Memorial) ^map 4 Bulford Kiwi, 51°11′38.84″N 001°42′54.20″W / 51.1941222°N 1.715056°W / 51.1941222; -1.715056 (Bulford Kiwi) ^map 5 Cerne Abbas giant, 50°48′49.17″N 002°28′29.09″W / 50.8136583°N 2.4747472°W / 50.8136583; -2.4747472 (Cerne Abbas giant) ^map 6 New Devizes white horse, 51°22′34.78″N 001°58′42.67″W / 51.3763278°N 1.9785194°W / 51.3763278; -1.9785194 (New Devizes white horse) ^map 7 Cherhill white horse, 51°25′30.90″N 001°55′47.36″W / 51.42525°N 1.9298222°W / 51.42525; -1.9298222 (Cherhill white horse) ^map 8 Folkestone white horse, 51°06′04.35″N 001°08′22.95″E / 51.1012083°N 1.1397083°E / 51.1012083; 1.1397083 (Folkestone white horse) ^map 9 Fovant Down badges , 51°03′14.32″N 001°58′43.94″W / 51.0539778°N 1.9788722°W / 51.0539778; -1.9788722 (Fovant Down badges) ^map 10 Hackpen white horse, 51°28′20.94″N 001°49′03.26″W / 51.4724833°N 1.8175722°W / 51.4724833; -1.8175722 (Hackpen white horse) ^map 11 Kilburn white horse, 54°13′29.26″N 001°12′45.65″W / 54.2247944°N 1.2126806°W / 54.2247944; -1.2126806 (Kilburn white horse) ^map 12 Lenham Memorial Cross, 51°14′31.99″N 000°43′44.33″E / 51.2422194°N 0.7289806°E / 51.2422194; 0.7289806 (Lenham Memorial Cross) ^map 13 New Litlington white horse, 50°47′18.38″N 000°08′31.26″E / 50.7884389°N 0.1420167°E / 50.7884389; 0.1420167 (New Litlington white horse)

Map of all coordinates from Google Map of all coordinates from Bing Export all coordinates as KML Export all coordinates as GeoRSS Map of all microformatted coordinates Place data as RDF ^map 14 Marlborough white horse, 51°24′45.74″N 001°44′15.25″W / 51.4127056°N 1.7375694°W / 51.4127056; -1.7375694 (Marlborough white horse) ^map 15 Osmington white horse, 50°39′27.85″N 002°24′14.88″W / 50.6577361°N 2.4041333°W / 50.6577361; -2.4041333 (Osmington white horse) ^map 16 new Pewsey white horse, 51°19′16.42″N 001°45′23.34″W / 51.3212278°N 1.7564833°W / 51.3212278; -1.7564833 (new Pewsey white horse) ^map 17 Uffington white horse, 51°34′39.90″N 001°33′59.67″W / 51.57775°N 1.566575°W / 51.57775; -1.566575 (Uffington white horse) ^map 18 Westbury white horse, 51°15′48.91″N 002°08′49.07″W / 51.2635861°N 2.1469639°W / 51.2635861; -2.1469639 (Westbury white horse) ^map 19 Whipsnade Zoo white lion, 51°50′54.26″N 000°33′15.11″W / 51.8484056°N 0.5541972°W / 51.8484056; -0.5541972 (Whipsnade Zoo white lion) ^map 20 Whitehawk hawk, 50°49′16.29″N 000°05′36.14″W / 50.8211917°N 0.0933722°W / 50.8211917; -0.0933722 (Whitehawk hawk) ^map 21 Whiteleaf Cross, 51°43′43.23″N 000°48′42.48″W / 51.728675°N 0.8118°W / 51.728675; -0.8118 (Whiteleaf Cross) ^map 22 Wye Crown, 51°10′52.58″N 000°57′43.43″E / 51.1812722°N 0.9620639°E / 51.1812722; 0.9620639 (Wye Crown) ^map 23 Long Man of Wilmington, 50°48′36.21″N 000°11′16.88″E / 50.8100583°N 0.1880222°E / 50.8100583; 0.1880222 (Long Man of Wilmington)

External links

• The Hillfigure Homepage
• Aerial Images of UK (England & Wales): Hill Figures
• English Heritage Monument Class Description
• Wiltshire White Horses
• Wiltshire's Horses
• Australian badges in Wiltshire (Fovant)