Westbury White Horse

Westbury White Horse

The Westbury or Bratton White Horse is a hill figure on the escarpment of Salisbury Plain, approximately convert|2.5|km|abbr=on northeast of Westbury in England. Located on the edge of Bratton Downs and lying just below an Iron Age hill fort, it is the oldest of several white horses carved in Wiltshire. It was restored in 1778, an action which may have obliterated a previous horse which had occupied the same slope. A contemporary engraving of the 1760s appears to show a horse facing in the opposite direction, and also rather smaller than the present figure. However, there is at present no documentary or other evidence for the existence of a chalk horse at Westbury before the year 1742.

The origin of the Westbury White Horse is obscure. It is often claimed to commemorate King Alfred's victory at the Battle of Eðandun in 878, and while this is not impossible, there is no trace of such a legend before the second half of the eighteenth century. It should also be noted that the battle of Eðandun has only tentatively been identified with Edington in Wiltshire.Another white horse, that of Uffington, featured in King Alfred's earlier life. He was born in the Vale of White Horse, not far from Uffington. Unlike Westbury, documents as early as the 11th century refer to the "White Horse Hill" at Uffington ("mons albi equi"), and archaeological evidence has dated the Uffington White Horse to the Bronze Age, although it is not certain that it was originally intended to represent a horse.

A white horse war standard was associated with the continental Saxons in the Dark Ages, and the figures of Hengest and Horsa who, according to legend, led the first Anglo-Saxon invaders into England, are said to have fought under a white horse standard (a claim recalled in the heraldic badge of the county of Kent).

During the 18th century, the white horse was a heraldic symbol associated with the new British Royal Family, the House of Hanover, and it is argued by some scholars that the Westbury White Horse may have first been carved in the early 18th century as a symbol of loyalty to the new Protestant reigning house.

In the 1950s the horse was vandalised. It was repaired, but the remains of what the vandals did to it could still be seen. Due to this it was restored again in late 2006/early 2007.

The debate on the origins of the horse continues.

The Westbury White Horse was featured in the novel "The English Patient" by Michael Ondaatje, but was not featured in the film of the novel.

See also

* Leucippotomy
* Cherhill White Horse

References

[
Electorate of Hanover, 1692]
*"Further Observations on the White Horse and other Antiquities in Berkshire" by the Reverend Francis Wise (1742)
*"White Horses and Other Hill Figures" by Morris Marples (1949)
* [http://wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk/westbury.html Westbury White Horse at Wiltshire White Horses]
* [http://www.thisiswestbury.co.uk/white_horse.htm The White (ish) Horse at ThisisWestbury.co.uk, Westbury's history website]
* [http://www.wiltshire-web.co.uk/history/horse.htm Wiltshire Web information]

Bibliography

* Plenderleath, Rev. W. C., "The White Horses of the West of England" (London: Allen & Storr, 1892)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Westbury White Horse — Vom Westbury Hill Das …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • White Horse (disambiguation) — White Horse generally refers to horses with a white coat, pink skin and blue eyes. The term may also refer to:Villages, towns, and cities* City of Whitehorse, Victoria, Australia * Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, named after the White Horse Rapids on… …   Wikipedia

  • White Horse Hill — Britische Illustration von 1897 Das Uffington White Horse auf der Seite des White Horse Hill in Oxfordshire (Distrikt Vale of White Horse) gilt als das älteste Scharrbild in England. Es handelt sich um das stilisierte Bild eines Pferdes, das in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cherhill White Horse — The horse in 1892, by the Rev. W. C. Plenderleath The Cherhill White Horse is a hill figure on Cherhill Down, 3.5 miles east of Calne in Wiltshire, England. Dating from the late 18th century, it is the third oldest of several such white horses in …   Wikipedia

  • Marlborough White Horse — The Marlborough White Horse, also called the Preshute White Horse, is a hill figure on Granham Hill, a fairly shallow slope of the downland above the village of Preshute, near Marlborough in the county of Wiltshire, England. Dating from 1804, it… …   Wikipedia

  • Cherhill White Horse — Das Cherhill White Horse ist ein Scharrbild auf dem Cherhill in Wiltshire, England. Sie stammt aus dem späten 18. Jahrhundert und ist die drittälteste solcher Figuren in Großbritannien.[1] Die Figur wird auch Oldbury White Horse genannt …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Uffington White Horse — Britische Illustration von 1897 Das Uffington White Horse auf der Seite des White Horse Hill in Oxfordshire (Distrikt Vale of White Horse) gilt als das älteste Scharrbild in England. Es handelt sich um das stilisierte Bild eines Pferdes, welches… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kilburn White Horse — The Kilburn white horse, gbmapping|SE516813, is a hill figure formed in the hillside near the village of Kilburn, in North Yorkshire, England. The horse is ft to m|num=318|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|precision=0|wiki=yes long by ft to… …   Wikipedia

  • Osmington White Horse — Osmington White Horse …   Wikipedia

  • Westbury, Wiltshire — infobox UK place country = England official name= Westbury population= 11,135 shire district= West Wiltshire shire county = Wiltshire region= South West England constituency westminster= post town= postcode district = postcode area= dial code= os …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”