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 cut in grass are a phenomenon especially seen in England, where examples include the Cerne Abbas Giant, the Uffington White Horse, and the Long Man of Wilmington, as well as the "lost" carvings at Cambridge, Oxford and Plymouth Hoe. From the 18th century onwards, many further ones were added. Many figures long thought to be ancient have been found to be relatively recent when subjected to modern archaeological scrutiny, at least in their current form. Only the Uffington White Horse appears to retain a prehistoric shape, while the Cerne Abbas Giant may be prehistoric, Romano-British, or Early Modern. Nevertheless, these figures, and their possible lost companions, have been iconic in the English people's conception of their past.
In England there are at least fifty landscape figures, the majority of which are in the south.Nigel Clarke, The Rude Man of Cerne Abbas and Other Wessex Oddities, Lyme Regis, Nigel J. Clarke Publications,
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 likely of the Early Modern period. Wiltshire is a county with a large number of White Horses; 14 have been recorded. 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. Although most of the figures are 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.
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 lost map of Australia at Compton Chamberlayne, Wiltshire, was restored in 2018.
Similar pictures exist elsewhere in the world, notably the far larger Nazca Lines in Peru, which are on flat land but visible from hills in the area. However, these were made in desert terrain rather than on grassy hillsides, so have not become overgrown and thus have survived much longer without maintenance. The Nazca Lines were formed by removing loose stones from the lines to expose the whiteish underlying soil, which is not itself dug.
In 1949, Morris Marples "half-humorously" coined the words "leucippotomy for the cutting of white horses and gigantotomy for the cutting of giants on rare occasions".Morris Marples, "White horses and other hill figures", Publisher: A. Sutton, 1949 (reprint), , 9780904387599, 223 pages, page 16John Timpson, "Timpson's Other England: A Look at the Unusual and the Definitely Odd", Publisher: Jarrold, 1994, , 9780711706453, 224 pages, page 68 Harold William Timperley, "The Vale of Pewsey", Publisher Hale, 1954, 230 pages, page 181 Though neither word appears in the Oxford English Dictionary, the terms occasionally appear in print."Top 10: Britain's largest hill figures", The Telegraph, undated, attributed to Top 10 of Britain: 250 Quintessentially British Lists by Russell Ash, published by Hamlyn
The biggest threat to white horses and other hill figures is natural vegetation covering the figures. In the case of chalk figures, natural vegetation encroaches from the edges and can grow on soil washed onto the figure by rain. Water erosion can also be a problem on steep or gentle slopes, because rain can wash the chalk off the horse, or soil onto the horse. Larger horses are more susceptible to this. If chalk is washed off the horse, the horse gradually creeps down the slope; or if soil is washed onto the horse, it collects onto the lower edges and the horse gradually climbs up the slope. A solution is to provide drainage, either using run-off drains, as at Uffington White Horse, or a french ditch.
Since hill figures must be maintained by the removal of regrown turf, only those that motivate the local populace to look after them survive. Surviving ancient figures all have an associated fair or ceremony that involves maintaining them.
Unmaintained figures gradually fade away. 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 Prehistory in origin, as only one figure in the UK has been shown to be of this age, the Uffington White Horse.
The Osmington White Horse carries a rider (King George III) but is not considered an example of gigantotomy due to the name of the figure referring to the horse.
Its history cannot be traced back further than the late 17th century, making an origin during the Celtic, Roman Britain or even Early Medieval periods difficult to prove. Above and to the right of the Giant's head is an earthwork known as the "Trendle", or "Frying Pan". Middle Ages writings refer to this location as "Trendle Hill", but make no mention of the giant, leading to the conclusion that it was probably only carved about 400 years ago. In contrast, the Uffington White Horse an unquestionably Prehistory hill figure on the Berkshire Downs was noticed and recorded by medieval authors. In 2021, a sediment analysis by the National Trust indicated an origin in the date range of 700 CE to 1100 CE, surprising historians who did not expect it to be medieval.
In 2008, overgrowth forced a re-chalking of the giant, with 17 tonnes of new chalk being poured in and tamped down by hand.
Before 1874, the Long Man's outline was only visible in certain light conditions as a different shade in the hillside grass, or after a light fall of snow. In that year an antiquarian marked out the outline with yellow bricks, later cemented together. It has been claimed that the 'restoration' process distorted the position of the feet, an assertion backed up by several who had been familiar with the figure before 1874, and also by later resistivity surveys. It has also been suggested that it removed the Long Man's genitalia, though there is no historical or archaeological evidence which supports that claim. The Unknown, Issue Jan 1986 A wide range of dates of origin have been proposed for the Long Man, but more recent archaeological work done by the University of Reading suggests that the figure dates from the 16th or 17th century AD.
1 | Uffington White Horse | Oxfordshire | 1000 BC |
2 | Westbury White Horse | Wiltshire | 1600s |
3 | Cherhill White Horse | Wiltshire | 1780 |
4 | Mormond White Horse | Aberdeenshire | 1790s |
5 | Marlborough White Horse | Wiltshire | 1804 |
6 | Osmington White Horse | Dorset | 1808 |
7 | Alton Barnes White Horse | Wiltshire | 1812 |
8 | Hackpen White Horse | Wiltshire | 1838 |
9 | Woolbury White Horse | Hampshire | Before 1846 |
10 | Kilburn White Horse | North Yorkshire | 1857 |
11 | Broad Town White Horse | Wiltshire | 1864 |
12 | Cleadon White Horse | South Tyneside | Before 1887 |
13 | Litlington White Horse | East Sussex | 1924 |
14 | Pewsey White Horse | Wiltshire | 1937 |
15 | Devizes White Horse | Wiltshire | 1999 |
16 | Heeley White Horse | South Yorkshire | 2000 |
17 | Folkestone White Horse | Kent | 2003 |
18 | Lutterworth white horses | Leicestershire | 2012 |
19 | Beverley Racecourse white horses | East Riding | 2010s |
20 | Black Horse of Bush Howe | Cumbria | ? (may be a natural figure) |
Old Westbury White Horse | Wiltshire | 878? | Before 1778 | New Westbury White Horse |
The Giant Ghyst | Bristol | Before 1480 | ||
Plymouth Hoe Gogmagog | Devon | Before 1486 | Late 1660s | – |
Wandlebury Hill Gogmagog | Cambridgeshire | Before 1605 | Around 1730 | – |
Old Pewsey White Horse | Wiltshire | 1785 | 1940 | New Pewsey White Horse |
Pitstone Hill White Horse | Buckinghamshire | 1809? | Before 1990 | – |
Old Litlington White Horse | Sussex | 1838 | 1924 | New Litlington White Horse |
The Giant of Hindover Hill | Sussex | Before 1850 | 1924 | - |
Old Devizes White Horse | Wiltshire | 1845 | Before 1999 | New Devizes White Horse |
Hackpen White Horse | Wiltshire | 1868? | Before 1990 | – |
Hindhead White Horse | Surrey | Before 1913 | 1939 | – |
Red Horse of Tysoe | Warwickshire | Before 1607 | Remains lost in 1964 | - |
Red Horse of Tysoe "IV" | Warwickshire | 1800 | 1910 | – |
Rockley White Horse | Wiltshire | Discovered 1948 | After 1950, before 1990 | – |
Tan Hill White Horse/Donkey | Wiltshire | Before 1975 | After 1975, before 1990 | – |
Mossley White Horse (aka Luzley White Horse) | Greater Manchester | 1981 | After 1994, before 1999 | – |
Folkestone White Horse mock-up | Kent | 1999 | 1999 | Folkestone White Horse |
Laverstock Panda | Wiltshire | 1969 | 1984 | – |
Pont Abraham Tea Pot and Cup | Wales | 1992 | 2009 | – |
Whittlesford White Horse | Cambridge | 2004 | A crop mark resembling a horse discovered 2004, possibly hinting a previous horse was cut here. |
Liddington White Horse | Wiltshire | 2000s | Plans for this white horse (including designs) occurred in the 2000s, but the project never happened. |
Red Horse of Tysoe "VI" | Warwickshire | 2010s | A forthcoming recutting of the Red Horse of Tysoe at the Vale of the Red Horse. |
Bloemfontein White Horse | Bloemfontein, South Africa | Before 1932 | N/A |
Cockington Green white horse | Cockington Green, Canberra, Australia | 20th or 21st century | N/A |
Georgia white horse | Georgia, United States | 20th or 21st century | N/A |
Juárez White Horse | Ciudad Juárez, Mexico | Unknown | N/A |
Riff Country horse | Iourdanan, Morocco | Unknown | Unknown |
Spis Castle Celtic Horse | Žehra, Slovakia | 2000s | N/A |
Tunis Horses | Tunis, Tunisia | Unknown | N/A |
Waimate White | Waimate, New Zealand | 1968 | N/A |
In 2010, Charlotte Moreton created the steel sculpture White Horse for Solstice Park, Amesbury, taking influence from white horses.
The Westbury White Horse is depicted on a roundabout and mosaic in the town.
An 1872 sketch of the Cherhill White Horse was incorporated into an unofficial flag of Wiltshire.
The Town Flag of Pewsey, registered in September 2014, features the Pewsey White Horse at its centre.
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