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| Westbury - 1800's |
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 White Horses news, views and archives brought to you by Weird Wiltshire Introduction Latest News News Archive Westbury Cherhill Marlborough Alton Barnes Hackpen Devizes Broad Town Pewsey Uffington Gallery Postcards Wallpaper Links 
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The oldest of Wiltshire's white horses, the hill figure at Westbury, is
situated underneath Bratton Castle, an Iron Age hill fort. Today it looks quite different from when it was first created - there was another carving at this site prior to the familiar figure that we see now. 
Some believe this ancient figure was created in 878, possibly to commemorate
the battle of Ethandun, in which King Alfred fought off Viking invaders.
However, there is no evidence to suggest that the battle took place in the
area or that the original horse is this old.Today's horse has certainly been around since at least the early 18th century. In the 1950s it was decided that the horse would be more easily maintained if it were set in concrete and painted white. The decision to concrete it over was made to stop the chalk surface of the horse, which rests on a steep slope, from crumbling away. In recent years, there has been a multitude of calls to clean what had become known after years of neglect as the "old grey mare". The horse had become greyer and greyer since its last clean-up in 1993, with lichen and environmental deposits being the worst culprits. In 2001, English Heritage called in specialist contractor Nimbus Conservation to steam clean the horse and it is now one of Wiltshire's most famous landmarks. |
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