Other places · South West England
Westbury White Horse
The Westbury White Horse or Bratton White Horse is a hill figure on the escarpment of Salisbury Plain, approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Westbury in Wiltshire. It is the oldest of eight white h
Phil Champion — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1 h–2 h
- Family-friendly
About
The Westbury White Horse or Bratton White Horse is a hill figure on the escarpment of Salisbury Plain, approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Westbury in Wiltshire. It is the oldest of eight white horses in Wiltshire, dating at least from the late 17th or early 18th century. It has been restored several times, which may have obliterated other white horse figures on the same slope. A small early 19th-century engraving shows a horse facing in the opposite direction. There is, however, no evidence for the existence of a chalk horse at Westbury before 1742, and it was reported then to have been created within living memory. 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. It is also considered a symbol for Wiltshire as a whole.
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From the Wikipedia article
The Westbury White Horse or Bratton White Horse is a hill figure on the escarpment of Salisbury Plain, approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Westbury in Wiltshire. It is the oldest of eight white horses in Wiltshire, dating at least from the late 17th or early 18th century. It has been restored several times, which may have obliterated other white horse figures on the same slope. A small early 19th-century engraving shows a horse facing in the opposite direction. There is, however, no evidence for the existence of a chalk horse at Westbury before 1742, and it was reported then to have been created within living memory. 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. It is also considered a symbol for Wiltshire as a whole.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
The Westbury or Bratton White Horse is the oldest of the Wiltshire chalk horses, and its origins are obscure. Another hillside chalk figure, the Uffington White Horse, featured in King Alfred's early life, as he 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 was associated with the continental Saxons in the Dark Ages. In his…
Visiting
The White Horse was referenced in The Tontine (1955) by Thomas B. Costain, The Emigrants (1980) by George Lamming, and 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 the music video for Scottish guitarist Midge Ure's 1996 single "Breathe", as well as in the music video to the instrumental piece "The Journey" by the hammered dulcimer band Dulci Girls, and is featured in the current opening titles of the regional television news programme ITV News West Country. It was also seen in a 2015 Visit England advertisement…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 51.2640, -2.1467
- District
- Wiltshire
- Parish
- Bratton
- Postcode
- BA13 4TA
- Parliamentary constituency
- South West Wiltshire
- Established
- 1778
Sources
- wikipedia: Westbury White Horse (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Westbury White Horse?
- Westbury White Horse is in South-West England, United Kingdom (postcode BA13 4TA), in the parish of Bratton.
- When was Westbury White Horse built?
- Built or established in 1778.
- How do I get to Westbury White Horse?
- Drivers can navigate to postcode BA13 4TA. It sits within the South West Wiltshire parliamentary constituency.