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80-677: The Litlington White Horse is a chalk hill figure depicting a horse , situated on Hindover Hill (locally known as High-and-Over) in the South Downs . It overlooks the River Cuckmere to the west of the village of Litlington and north of East Blatchington in East Sussex , England . The current horse was cut in 1924 by John T Ade, Eric Hobbis, and Stephen Bovis in a single night, and stands at 93 ft (28 m) long and 65 ft (20 m) high. An earlier horse figure

160-447: A phosphate mineral) is also sometimes present, as nodules or as small pellets interpreted as fecal pellets. In some chalk beds, the calcite has been converted to dolomite , CaMg(CO 3 ) 2 , and in a few cases the dolomitized chalk has been dedolomitized back to calcite. Chalk is highly porous, with typical values of porosity ranging from 35 to 47 per cent. While it is similar in appearance to both gypsum and diatomite , chalk

240-509: A committee, and at the same time substantial edging-stones were added all around the perimeter, to prevent the shape from changing again. During the Second World War, the chalk of the horse was turfed over to prevent German pilots from using it for navigation. Nearby Westbury was considered to be a potential target as a railway hub. The horse was illuminated at night in 1900 and again in 1950, both times using army equipment. For

320-676: A dog, cut by a grieving boy to mark the grave of his dog, which was killed either alongside or in the River Cuckmere below. Supposedly, due to erosion over the years, the figure began to resemble a horse, taking its present form. There is also little evidence to support this story. There are persistent local tales of treasure buried in the vicinity of the horse. These tales often involve hidden stashes of coins or valuable artefacts placed there by ancient inhabitants or later generations seeking to safeguard their wealth during times of conflict. While no substantial evidence has been found to support these rumours, they add an element of mystery and intrigue to

400-419: A faint photograph taken in the late 1910s suggests the horse was considerably larger than the present horse and was cut in a standing position with straight legs, similar to most other horse hill figures. Although it has been suggested that the original horse was likely located 100 yards northwest of the present horse, photographs of Hindover Hill from the late 1910s show the faint outline of the horse roughly in

480-505: A few are more recent. A mixture of chalk and mercury can be used as fingerprint powder . However, because of the toxicity of the mercury, the use of such mixtures for fingerprinting was abandoned in 1967. Westbury White Horse Westbury White Horse or Bratton White Horse is a hill figure on the escarpment of Salisbury Plain , approximately 1.5 mi (2.4 km) east of Westbury in Wiltshire , England. Located on

560-497: A giant figure similar to the Long Man of Wilmington , which has since faded from memory. Historian Jacqueline Simpson supports this, noting that until the 1800s, the figures on Hindover Hill and Wilmington were collectively referred to as 'Adam and Eve'. Philip Carr-Gomm adds to this by describing stories of a tall female giant, which he refers to as a goddess, being carved out of chalk on Hindover Hill. In 1905, J. P. Emslie recorded

640-402: A horse's head, proceeded to cut away the rest of the horse to complement it. While the view that it was originally cut in 1838 is more commonly accepted, it is conceivable that these boys might have recut the horse after a period of neglect in 1860, resulting in overgrowth in certain parts of the horse's body and contributing to the confusion regarding its later creation. The Hackpen White Horse

720-428: A large sarsen stone (stone of remembrance) with a pebbled base, on which lies a metal commemorative plaque . The monument was unveiled 5 November 2000 by the 7th Marquess of Bath . King Alfred's Tower , near Stourhead , is the best known monument that was definitely built to celebrate King Alfred and his victory. The folly tower was erected in 1772, six years before the white horse was redesigned. The White Horse

800-478: A local tale of a male figure carved into Hindover Hill, representing "a man being thrown from a horse," marking a Saxon victory over the Normans. A. H. Allcroft summarized the recurring accounts, stating that "men who were schoolboys in the 1860s recollect it well enough, though it is now so vanished that learned folks refuse to believe it." Despite these stories, by the late 19th century, the figure had disappeared to

880-417: A mile and a half from the horse. The Blue Circle company was bought in 2001 by Lafarge and the chimney was last used in 2010: it was demolished on 18 September 2016. Some considered it an eyesore whilst others considered it a local icon, a debate covered by a BBC Wiltshire radio broadcast in 2011. The chimney was the most prominent feature of the view from the horse; some considered it to spoil views from

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960-465: A small stone structure, which identifies the towns and cities that can be seen from the hillside. For the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II , a fire beacon was placed to the side of the road on the top of the hill leading to the car park on 3 June 2002, that resembles the millennium beacons. It is lit to mark occasions such as the 70th anniversary of VE Day on 8 May 2015. BBC News had

1040-480: A symbol of local identity and pride. It features in local art , literature , and even in the branding of local businesses and organisations . The horse has also been featured in numerous paintings, photographs, and films. Its striking image against the rolling hills of East Sussex makes it a popular subject for artists seeking to capture the beauty and history of the English countryside. The chalk hillside where

1120-470: A video in June 2018 showing the horse being cleaned with high pressure water jets by up to 18 volunteer abseilers. The cost was given as £3,000, paid for by Westbury Town Council. It stated that the previous clean was in 2016. In July 2023 the horse was cleaned, repainted and repaired again, with water used to clean off algae and dirt in a project funded by English Heritage . The cost was not made public, but

1200-410: A young girl who secretly carves a large white horse on the chalky hill overlooking her village after her mother forbids her from going near real horses. Chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous , sedimentary carbonate rock . It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to

1280-642: Is mined from chalk deposits both above ground and underground . Chalk mining boomed during the Industrial Revolution , due to the need for chalk products such as quicklime and bricks . Most people first encounter chalk in school where it refers to blackboard chalk , which was originally made of mineral chalk, since it readily crumbles and leaves particles that stick loosely to rough surfaces, allowing it to make writing that can be readily erased. Blackboard chalk manufacturers now may use mineral chalk, other mineral sources of calcium carbonate, or

1360-405: Is achieved via a tinted spotlight which changes colour every couple of seconds, so the horse appears different colours. Two visitor information signs, on the hill above the horse and in the viewing area car park, were placed in 1999 following the completion of Devizes White Horse ; the signs show all eight Wiltshire White Horses. Also on the side of the hill is a toposcope dated 1968, mounted on

1440-469: Is also used for " blackboard chalk " for writing and drawing on various types of surfaces, although these can also be manufactured from other carbonate-based minerals, or gypsum . Chalk is a fine-textured, earthy type of limestone distinguished by its light colour, softness, and high porosity. It is composed mostly of tiny fragments of the calcite shells or skeletons of plankton , such as foraminifera or coccolithophores . These fragments mostly take

1520-428: Is applied to the hands and feet to remove perspiration and reduce slipping. Chalk may also be used as a house construction material instead of brick or wattle and daub : quarried chalk was cut into blocks and used as ashlar , or loose chalk was rammed into blocks and laid in mortar. There are still houses standing which have been constructed using chalk as the main building material. Most are pre- Victorian though

1600-518: Is commonly used as a drying agent to obtain better grip by gymnasts and rock climbers. Glazing putty mainly contains chalk as a filler in linseed oil . Chalk and other forms of limestone may be used for their properties as a base . Chalk is a source of quicklime by thermal decomposition , or slaked lime following quenching of quicklime with water. In agriculture , chalk is used for raising pH in soils with high acidity . Small doses of chalk can also be used as an antacid . Additionally,

1680-515: Is identifiable by its hardness, fossil content, and its reaction to acid (it produces effervescence on contact). In Western Europe, chalk was formed in the Late Cretaceous Epoch and the early Palaeocene Epoch (between 100 and 61 million years ago). It was deposited on extensive continental shelves at depths between 100 and 600 metres (330 and 1,970 ft), during a time of nonseasonal (likely arid) climate that reduced

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1760-582: Is now usually made of talc (magnesium silicate). Chalk beds form important petroleum reservoirs in the North Sea and along the Gulf Coast of North America. In southeast England, deneholes are a notable example of ancient chalk pits. Such bell pits may also mark the sites of ancient flint mines, where the prime object was to remove flint nodules for stone tool manufacture. The surface remains at Cissbury are one such example, but perhaps

1840-524: Is obscure. It is often claimed to commemorate King Alfred 's victory at the Battle of Ethandun in 878, and while this is quite plausible, there is no trace of such a legend before the second half of the 18th century. Perhaps more believable is a theory that it was created at a much later date to commemorate this early "English victory", particularly as King Alfred had a very strong following in England from

1920-453: Is often regarded as the 'sister horse' to the original Litlington White Horse, both having been initially cut in 1838 to honour Queen Victoria's coronation and being of broadly similar proportions. Few historical accounts of the original horse describe its design. One notable account, written after a visit in 1884, describes it as having a glaring "mane, eyes, and nose" alongside "two donkey's ears". Although no known account provides its size,

2000-499: Is situated on a 45-degree slope and measures around 28 meters (65 feet) long and 20 meters (93 feet) high. Unique among other horse hill figures, it has been cut in a prancing position since 1983. When visiting the horse in 1949, Morris Marples described it as having "two ears and a long, flowing tail, but lacking both an eye and nostril". Beyond its historical and communal roles, the Litlington White Horse has become

2080-408: Is taken to minimize environmental impact. The chalk used for restoration is often sourced locally to ensure consistency, and efforts are made to protect the surrounding grassland and its biodiversity . As a significant local landmark, the horse has been subject to several acts of vandalism. In May 2017, it was vandalized with the addition of a unicorn horn, which was quickly removed. The horse

2160-645: The Cretaceous Period was named for these deposits. The name Cretaceous was derived from Latin creta , meaning chalk . Some deposits of chalk were formed after the Cretaceous. The Chalk Group is a European stratigraphic unit deposited during the late Cretaceous Period. It forms the famous White Cliffs of Dover in Kent , England, as well as their counterparts of the Cap Blanc Nez on

2240-766: The House of Hanover , and it is argued by some scholars that 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 Alfred and the Great White Horse of Wiltshire (1939), the Downside Abbey monk Dom Illtyd Trethowan debunked the suggested connection of the White Horse with Alfred and the Battle of Ethandune. Paul Newman suggests in his book Lost Gods of Albion (2009) that

2320-409: The bedding or as nodules in seams , or linings to fractures , embedded in chalk. It is probably derived from sponge spicules or other siliceous organisms as water is expelled upwards during compaction. Flint is often deposited around larger fossils such as Echinoidea which may be silicified (i.e. replaced molecule by molecule by flint). Chalk is so common in Cretaceous marine beds that

2400-422: The coronation of Queen Victoria . It has also been suggested that William Ade's father, Charles Ade, who had experience in surveying, was involved in the planning. This view of the horse's creation in 1838 is supported by numerous accounts of the white horse recorded throughout the 1850s and 1860s. Another theory posits that the horse was cut in 1860 by two local boys, who, noticing a patch of bare chalk resembling

2480-523: The sea floor . Chalk is common throughout Western Europe , where deposits underlie parts of France, and steep cliffs are often seen where they meet the sea in places such as the Dover cliffs on the Kent coast of the English Channel . Chalk is mined for use in industry, such as for quicklime , bricks and builder's putty , and in agriculture , for raising pH in soils with high acidity . It

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2560-496: The 17th century onwards, see for example King Alfred's Tower . Historians have generally located the battle of Ethandun or Edington on the high ground, somewhere within a few kilometres of the white horse, which would have been a strong defensive position for Alfred and the Saxons of Wessex, marching north-east from Egbert's Stone (popularly believed to be located at Kingston Deverill or King Alfred's Tower nearby), whilst facing

2640-592: The 1950 event, which used World War Two searchlights , traffic in Westbury and Bratton came almost to a standstill as drivers slowed down to look. In 1928, the horse was used as inspiration for the design of the Litlington White Horse in East Sussex, which until 1983, when it was changed from a standing position to a prancing position, was visually similar to the Westbury horse. In 1957

2720-767: The Danes led by Guthram, advancing south-west from their stronghold in Chippenham . It is popularly believed that Bratton Castle , the Iron Age hillfort immediately adjacent to the white horse may have played some part in the battle, but there is no evidence of this, and the 'fortress' referenced in Medieval texts is much more likely to have been the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Chippenham, which had been occupied by Guthram's Danes as their headquarters. Local legend asserts that

2800-469: The Litlington White Horse is a popular spot for hikers and tourists, offering stunning views of the surrounding countryside and the Cuckmere Valley . It serves as a waypoint for many walking routes across the South Downs , attracting visitors interested in both natural beauty and historical landmarks. The horse also features in local educational programs, where schools and community groups visit

2880-425: The Litlington White Horse is situated is not just a cultural landmark but also an ecological one. The South Downs , of which Hindover Hill is a part, hosts a unique chalk grassland ecosystem . The maintenance of the horse indirectly supports the preservation of this habitat, as regular clearing of the figure helps prevent the spread of invasive species and promotes the growth of native chalk grassland flora. Today,

2960-542: The Litlington White Horse was deliberately covered by the Ministry of Defence to prevent it from being used as a location marker for the Luftwaffe during World War II , after maps featuring hill figures were found on captured German aircrew. The rushed uncovering of the horse in 1945 by Ministry of Defence contractors resulted in several changes to the horse's original shape, including only one front leg being recut. This

3040-732: The North American interior. Chalk is also found in western Egypt (Khoman Formation) and western Australia ( Miria Formation ). Chalk of Oligocene to Neogene age has been found in drill cores of rock under the Pacific Ocean at Stewart Arch in the Solomon Islands . There are layers of chalk, containing Globorotalia , in the Nicosia Formation of Cyprus , which formed during the Pliocene . Chalk

3120-473: The amount of erosion from nearby exposed rock. The lack of nearby erosion explains the high purity of chalk. The coccolithophores, foraminifera, and other microscopic organisms from which the chalk came mostly form low-magnesium calcite skeletons, so the sediments were already in the form of highly stable low-magnesium calcite when deposited. This is in contrast with most other limestones, which formed from high-magnesium calcite or aragonite that rapidly converted to

3200-438: The chalk rubble used to fill the figure, resulting in the horse taking its present form. This change in the horse's legs was directed using a two-way radio link between workers on the hill and observers below in the valley. A significant issue in the horse's preservation since its recutting in 1924 has been the legs acting as channels for running water, causing them to become straightened, elongated, and splay out to form deltas at

3280-463: The concrete facing from 1957 was replaced and repainted. In 2003, the horse was vandalised when "Stop This War" was written in yellow across the horse in capital letters in protest of the Iraq War . After the words were removed, the horse was noticeably grey with a white horizontal strip where the message had been. In November 2006, the horse was repaired and repainted again. The newly whitened horse

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3360-476: The cross was neglected remains unknown. During the late 1920s and 30s, there were accounts of a large letter "S" and an irregular shape resembling a lion's head cut into the chalk below the current white horse. However, no further mention of these figures can be found after the mid-1930s. If these markings were man-made, their short existence suggests they were not maintained. Oral histories passed down through generations of local families contain rich details about

3440-567: The current white horse was cut in 1778 by a Mr Gee, who overlaid a smaller, older chalk figure, believed to also have been a horse, the only surviving image of which dates to 1772, and shows a figure facing the other way with a long tail. During the 19th and early 20th Centuries the figure was periodically reshaped and repaired. Another hillside chalk figure, the Uffington White Horse , featured in King Alfred's early life. He

3520-505: The cutters of the original horse) alongside two of his friends, Eric Hobbis and Stephen Bovis, during a single night on the full moon of 20 February 1924. Originally designed by John Ade during the winter of 1923, he drew inspiration for his design from the Westbury White Horse in Wiltshire . John Ade's interest in cutting the horse was based on both the history of the original Litlington White Horse cut by his grandfather and

3600-496: The defeated Danes fled down the slopes to the springs that rise between the villages of Bratton and Edington (after which the battle was named), and the slopes on which the white horse is located. Again, according to local legend, many exhausted Danes were massacred in the woods and boggy ground there by pursuing Saxons, the survivors fleeing north-eastwards, pursued by Alfred's men all the way to Chippenham . However, there are some who dispute this account and believe this key battle

3680-511: 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 another horse that had occupied the same slope. A contemporary engraving from around 1772 appears to show a horse facing in the opposite direction that was rather smaller than the present figure. There is, however, no documentation or other evidence for

3760-417: The existence of a chalk horse at Westbury before 1772. The horse is 180 ft (55 m) tall and 170 ft (52 m) wide and has been adopted as a symbol for the town of Westbury, appearing on welcome signs and the logo of its tourist information centre. It is also considered a symbol for Wiltshire as a whole. Although it is the oldest of the Wiltshire white horses, the origin of Westbury White Horse

3840-488: The figure's visibility and sharpness. In 1983, the East Sussex County Council scoured the horse and installed wooden boards around it. They also terraced its legs and body to reduce the gradient, keeping the chalk in place. This work included installing a perimeter fence to prevent damage from livestock . During this time, the horse's posture was changed from standing to prancing to prevent slippage of

3920-512: The form of calcite plates ranging from 0.5 to 4 microns in size, though about 10% to 25% of a typical chalk is composed of fragments that are 10 to 100 microns in size. The larger fragments include intact plankton skeletons and skeletal fragments of larger organisms, such as molluscs , echinoderms , or bryozoans . Chalk is typically almost pure calcite, CaCO 3 , with just 2% to 4% of other minerals. These are usually quartz and clay minerals , though collophane (cryptocrystalline apatite ,

4000-539: The furthest views of the horse are said to be from Beckford's Tower in Bath and from the tower of St Michael's Church, Dundry near Bristol . A car park on Bratton Road (B3098) which passes beneath the horse is known as Westbury White Horse Viewing Area. It has fifteen parking spaces and information boards on the horse. In 1961 a 400-foot-tall (122 m) chimney was built at the Blue Circle cement works about

4080-450: The hill. The landscape of the horse was threatened in 2013 when Wiltshire Council revealed plans for a potential three-lane bypass that would run within half a mile of the horse, with a 35-acre (14 ha) business park and 550 new homes on green belt land. Some local residents, together with many from outside the town, were against the " Swindonisation " of their corner of West Wiltshire, although many residents felt that Westbury, as

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4160-680: The hooves after significant rainfall. In 1991, Frog Firle Farm, along with the White Horse situated in its grounds, was acquired by the National Trust , which has since regularly maintained the horse. Over the decades, the figure has required several restorations, particularly after periods of neglect or natural overgrowth. In recent years, technology has played a role in the preservation of the Litlington White Horse. Techniques such as aerial drone photography and digital mapping have been used to monitor its condition and plan conservation efforts more effectively. As part of its maintenance, care

4240-473: The horse may have been inspired by the popularity of folly buildings in the 18th century. Wiltshire folklore has it that when the nearby Bratton church clock strikes midnight, the white horse goes down to the Bridewell Springs, below the hill, to drink. By 1872 the horse was considered to have lost its shape, by the chalk repeatedly growing over and being re-cut. In 1873 it was remodelled by

4320-419: The horse was concreted over and painted white by Westbury Urban District Council, in an attempt to save on long-term maintenance costs, as the chalk of the face was eroding and unstable, due to the steepness of the slope. Since then, the concrete has tended to turn grey and deteriorate over time, requiring regular cleaning, as well as periodic repairs and repainting. It was thoroughly cleaned in 1993 and in 1995,

4400-528: The mineral gypsum ( calcium sulfate ). While gypsum-based blackboard chalk is the lowest cost to produce, and thus widely used in the developing world , use of carbonate-based chalk produces larger particles and thus less dust, and it is marketed as "dustless chalk". Coloured chalks, pastel chalks, and sidewalk chalk (shaped into larger sticks and often coloured), used to draw on sidewalks , streets, and driveways , are primarily made of gypsum rather than calcium carbonate chalk. Magnesium carbonate chalk

4480-406: The more stable low-magnesium calcite after deposition, resulting in the early cementation of such limestones. In chalk, absence of this calcium carbonate conversion process prevented early cementation, which partially accounts for chalk's high porosity. Chalk is also the only form of limestone that commonly shows signs of compaction. Flint (a type of chert ) is very common as bands parallel to

4560-562: The most famous is the extensive complex at Grimes Graves in Norfolk . Chalk was traditionally used in recreation. In field sports, such as tennis played on grass, powdered chalk was used to mark the boundary lines of the playing field or court. If a ball hits the line, a cloud of chalk or pigment dust will be visible. In recent years, powdered chalk has been replaced with titanium dioxide . In gymnastics, rock-climbing, weightlifting and tug of war , chalk — now usually magnesium carbonate —

4640-542: The music video for Scottish guitarist Midge Ure 's 1996 single " Breathe ", and is featured in the current opening titles of the regional television news programme ITV News West Country . Furthermore, it featured in a 2015 Visit England tourist advertisement produced in association with the England rugby team . The horse lends its name to White Horse Business Park outside Trowbridge and White Horse Country Park outside Westbury. The horse overlooks both parks. White Horse Way

4720-464: The next to ensure the accuracy of the design's transfer. During the February full moon, the men cut the horse using a 'stick' of 35 inches as a measurement for a quick transfer of their design. The horse was cut without the knowledge of the local residents, who were startled by the horse's sudden appearance on the hillside. This may have been the motivation behind the speedy cutting. In the late 1930s,

4800-476: The only town on the A350 without a bypass and whose medieval heart was blighted by pollution and HGVs needed a bypass. Although the horse is only presumed to commemorate King Alfred 's victory at the Battle of Ethandun , an official monument to the victory was erected atop the hill, adjacent to Bratton Camp . The monument does not have an official name but is known as the Battle of Ethandun memorial. It consists of

4880-416: The original figure, blending fact and folklore and adding a layer of myth and legend to the horse's history. One local folklore suggests that the horse was originally cut as a memorial to a local girl whose horse bolted while riding along the brow of Hindover Hill, resulting in her fatal fall. However, there is no evidence to support this story. Another story suggests that the hill figure originally depicted

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4960-667: The other side of the Dover Strait . The Champagne region of France is mostly underlain by chalk deposits, which contain artificial caves used for wine storage . Some of the highest chalk cliffs in the world occur at Jasmund National Park in Germany and at Møns Klint in Denmark . Chalk deposits are also found in Cretaceous beds on other continents, such as the Austin Chalk , Selma Group , and Niobrara Formations of

5040-594: The paint alone cost £25,000. The Horse can be viewed from up to 16–17 miles (26–27 km) in all directions. From the horse, Westbury and Trowbridge can be closely observed. The Mendip TV Mast on the Mendip Hills in Somerset can be seen clearly to the west, particularly at night. From the top of the horse and Bratton Castle, Devizes White Horse and Alton Barnes White Horse can both be viewed. The horse itself cannot be seen from other hill figures. Two of

5120-415: The point that its existence was doubted by contemporary scholars. Several mid-19th-century accounts of the Litlington White Horse mentioned a large cross cut into the chalk alongside the horse on Hindover Hill. An 1865 account refers to the figures as "the cross and white horse". However, by the 1890s, accounts of the horse failed to mention the cross. The reason why the horse continued to be maintained while

5200-404: The recutting and maintenance of the horse in the early 1860s were not done to the same standard as its original form in 1838. Continued mentions of the horse in texts throughout the mid to late 1800s suggest the figure was regularly maintained until around 1900, after which neglect resulted in the original horse becoming completely covered by the early 1910s. The last recorded sighting of the horse

5280-404: The same location as the present-day horse. Over the years, the original white horse fell into disrepair. Chalk figures require constant maintenance to prevent them from being overgrown with grass and vegetation. By the early 1860s, the crudity of the horse's cutting was frequently remarked upon, including one comment in 1862 referring to the horse as "a piece of rustic sculpture ", implying that

5360-436: The site to learn about local history , geology , and ecology . At the peak of Hindover Hill, a free car park is located along Alfriston Road, with a short footpath leading down to the White Horse. However, a better view of the horse can be obtained from across the valley by walking south along the banks of the River Cuckmere from Litlington village. Historian Rodney Castleden suggests that Hindover Hill once featured

5440-454: The site's history. The Litlington White Horse was the solution to Pimania , the UK's first real-life video treasure hunt game. Released in 1982, the clues revealing the White Horse were not identified until 1985, by which time its publisher Automata UK had ceased trading. The Litlington White Horse served as the inspiration for Miriam Moss's book The Horse Girl (2002), which tells the story of

5520-436: The small particles of chalk make it a substance ideal for cleaning and polishing. For example, toothpaste commonly contains small amounts of chalk, which serves as a mild abrasive . Polishing chalk is chalk prepared with a carefully controlled grain size, for very fine polishing of metals. French chalk (also known as tailor's chalk) is traditionally a hard chalk used to make temporary markings on cloth, mainly by tailors . It

5600-657: The story of the Kilburn White Horse in North Yorkshire . According to John Ade, they first laid out the horse using ropes and pegs in the House Field at Ade's Grove Hill Farm in the nearby village of Hellingly in preparation for its cutting in Litlington . The original drawing created by John Ade to assist with the horse's cutting is minutely annotated to give the distance between each peg and

5680-472: 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 ,

5760-661: Was born in the Vale of White Horse , not far from Uffington in Oxfordshire . Unlike the recorded history of Westbury, documents as early as the eleventh century refer to the "White Horse Hill" at Uffington ("mons albi equi"), and archaeological work 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

5840-556: Was completed on 19 April 2012. The cleaning coincided with the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II . Celebrating the completion of the work, again the horse was lit up with searchlights. Since the annual Village Pump Festival moved from Farleigh Hungerford to the White Horse Country Park beneath the horse in 2012, the horse has been illuminated at night whilst the festival has been taking place. This

5920-480: Was cut slightly northwest of the current one in 1838. Since 1991, the horse has been owned by the National Trust , who, along with local volunteers, regularly clean and maintain it. The Litlington White Horse is one of two hill figures in East Sussex, the other being the Long Man of Wilmington , situated 3 miles northeast of the White Horse. It is also one of only eleven horse hill figures in England located outside of Wiltshire . The original Litlington White Horse

6000-409: Was fought elsewhere, as there is very little real evidence either way, it remains contested, although the majority agree the vicinity of Edington is the most likely, and logical site. A local site, just to the north-east of the white horse is Luccombe Vale, which has a locally famed 'bloodstone' said to be connected with the massacre of Danish prisoners after the battle. According to local tradition,

6080-424: Was illuminated on the night the repairs were finished, by Second World War searchlights, as in 1950. In July 2010, the neck of the horse was vandalised when the word "wonkey" was written across it. This part of the neck had to be re-whitened in 2010, leading to the horse having a whiter neck than the rest of the body. The BBC reported that the horse was to be cleaned again in 2012. Work began on 11 April 2012 and

6160-408: Was in 1924, when it "could be made out, though with difficulty" due to significant overgrowth. Interest in the original Litlington White Horse was rekindled in the early 20th century, leading to efforts to revive the tradition. The 1924 carving is seen as both a restoration and a new design, honouring the original horse. The current horse was carved by John T. Ade (the grandson of William Ade, one of

6240-463: Was not corrected until the full moon of 9 June 1949, when between 10 pm and 3 am, two of the original cutters, John Ade and Stephen Bovis, alongside their friend Paul Harris, made several changes to return the horse to its 1924 appearance. These changes included recutting an additional front leg and readjusting the back, which "had shifted uphill a bit from saddle to rump". In the 1980s and 1990s, significant restoration efforts were undertaken to preserve

6320-483: Was part of a broader trend in the 19th and early 20th centuries when several communities in southern England created or restored chalk figures as symbols of local identity and heritage. The origin of the original White Horse is most commonly accepted as being created by James Pagden, the son of a tenant farmer of Frog Firle Farm, along with his two brothers and his cousin William Ade (1820–92), in 1838 to commemorate

6400-458: Was referenced in G. K. Chesterton's epic poem The Ballad of the White Horse (1911) and the books The Tontine (1955) by Thomas B. Costain , The Emigrants (1980) by Caribbean author George Lamming , and in the novel The English Patient (1992) by Michael Ondaatje , as the place where the sapper Kip learned how to deactivate bombs. Michael Morpurgo mentioned it as one of the inspirations for The Butterfly Lion . The figure can be seen in

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