Marlborough White Horse
Encyclopedia
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 is one of several such white horses
to be seen around Great Britain.
Many distant views of the horse are obstructed by trees, but it can be seen from parts of the town of Marlborough. One good view is from a footpath running from Preshute House to the A345 road
.
, which is only a short distance away. The horse was designed and marked out on the hill by a boy called William Canning, whose family owned the Manor House at Ogbourne St George. From then onwards, it was "scoured", or cleaned up, every year, this becoming a tradition at the school marked by revelry.
Greasley died about 1830, and the school was closed, leading to the horse being neglected for some years, but by 1860 it was back in good condition and can be seen in a photograph taken that year at a cricket match. In 1873 a Captain Reed, an old boy of Greasley's Academy who had taken part in the horse's creation, saw to a new scouring.
The horse is 62 feet long by 47 high, and it has got thinner since the early twentieth century. It was restored again in September 2001, when it was re-chalked with pure chalk mixed with water and applied with a stiff brush, but by the late summer of 2002 it already had grass growing on much of its surface.
A verse of the Marlborough College school song refers to the horse:
, which itself was probably created in imitation of the first such Wiltshire horse, at Westbury
, remodelled in the 1770s. It is unclear whether the Westbury horse is ancient, but the Uffington horse
, now in Oxfordshire
, has been shown to date from the Bronze Age
. The earliest evidence of the Westbury horse is in a paper of the Rev. Francis Wise published in 1742, which refers to it.
Hill figure
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...
on Granham Hill, a fairly shallow slope of the downland
Downland
A downland is an area of open chalk hills. This term is especially used to describe the chalk countryside in southern England. Areas of downland are often referred to as Downs....
above the village of Preshute
Preshute
Preshute is a small village in Wiltshire along the A4 Bath Road on the outskirts of Marlborough beyond Marlborough College.There has been a lot of recent building in the north side of the village which is perceived as an extension of Marlborough...
, near Marlborough in the county of Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England. Dating from 1804, it is one of several such white horses
Leucippotomy
Leucippotomy is the art of carving white horses in chalk upland areas, particularly as practised in southern England. The practice is apparently of prehistoric origin; the Uffington White Horse, near The Ridgeway, has been dated to between 1400 and 600 BC. The Uffington White Horse is the most...
to be seen around Great Britain.
Many distant views of the horse are obstructed by trees, but it can be seen from parts of the town of Marlborough. One good view is from a footpath running from Preshute House to the A345 road
A345 road
The A345 is a secondary A road in Wiltshire, England running from Salisbury to Marlborough ending at a roundabout leading to the High Street and the A4....
.
History
The smallest such horse in Wiltshire, the Marlborough horse was cut in 1804 by boys at Mr Greasley's Academy, also called the High Street Academy, a school in the Marlborough High Street which occupied the building now The Ivy House Hotel. This was not the present-day Marlborough CollegeMarlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
, which is only a short distance away. The horse was designed and marked out on the hill by a boy called William Canning, whose family owned the Manor House at Ogbourne St George. From then onwards, it was "scoured", or cleaned up, every year, this becoming a tradition at the school marked by revelry.
Greasley died about 1830, and the school was closed, leading to the horse being neglected for some years, but by 1860 it was back in good condition and can be seen in a photograph taken that year at a cricket match. In 1873 a Captain Reed, an old boy of Greasley's Academy who had taken part in the horse's creation, saw to a new scouring.
The horse is 62 feet long by 47 high, and it has got thinner since the early twentieth century. It was restored again in September 2001, when it was re-chalked with pure chalk mixed with water and applied with a stiff brush, but by the late summer of 2002 it already had grass growing on much of its surface.
A verse of the Marlborough College school song refers to the horse:
Inspiration
The horse may have been inspired by the nearby Cherhill White HorseCherhill White Horse
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 Great Britain, with only the Uffington White Horse and the Westbury White Horse being older...
, which itself was probably created in imitation of the first such Wiltshire horse, at Westbury
Westbury White Horse
The Westbury or Bratton White Horse is a hill figure on the escarpment of Salisbury Plain, approximately east 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...
, remodelled in the 1770s. It is unclear whether the Westbury horse is ancient, but the Uffington horse
Uffington White Horse
The Uffington White Horse is a highly stylised prehistoric hill figure, 110 m long , formed from deep trenches filled with crushed white chalk...
, now in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, has been shown to date from the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
. The earliest evidence of the Westbury horse is in a paper of the Rev. Francis Wise published in 1742, which refers to it.
See also
- Chalk figures in England
- LeucippotomyLeucippotomyLeucippotomy is the art of carving white horses in chalk upland areas, particularly as practised in southern England. The practice is apparently of prehistoric origin; the Uffington White Horse, near The Ridgeway, has been dated to between 1400 and 600 BC. The Uffington White Horse is the most...
- Westbury White HorseWestbury White HorseThe Westbury or Bratton White Horse is a hill figure on the escarpment of Salisbury Plain, approximately east 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...
- Cherhill White HorseCherhill White HorseThe 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 Great Britain, with only the Uffington White Horse and the Westbury White Horse being older...
External links
- Several photographs of the horse at hows.org.uk
- Preshute White Horse at wikimapia.org
- Aerial image of Marlborough (or Preshute) white Horse at lastrefuge.co.uk
- Photograph of Marlborough White Horse at wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk
- Wiltshire White Horses at wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk
- Horse history at wiltshire-web.co.uk (the Wiltshire Web)