Horse thingy in Sussex...what is it?

[nigel]

I took this pic of a "Horse thingy" in the south of Sussex, quite near Lewes I believe, It's quite a famous landmark I believe, I can't quite remember where I was, and I don't know what this is called either! I also don't know the purpose of it, it's familiar though...can anyone shed any knowledge on what it is? Or what it is called?


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[nigel]

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[pennybarry]

I have seen that view when I was with hubby in his truck couple of months ago. We were close to Borough Bridge in York and it is overlooking from there. My husband said that there's a horse racing in that place.

It is the Kilburn White Horse an it is a large figure covering over an acre of land which was carved into the hillside overlooking the Vale of York in 1857. The Horse is 304ft long and 228ft high and can be seen from 40 miles away.

[South-east boy]

There must be a few of them then as Nigel said his was in Sussex, Penny's is in York and I thought that there was one in Kent?

[pennybarry]

There must be a few of them then as Nigel said his was in Sussex, Penny's is in York and I thought that there was one in Kent?

There's also a horse in Westbury called Bratton White Horse, another one in Wiltshire, England.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherhill_White_Horse

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westbury_White_Horse

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilburn_White_Horse

Nigel can figure out which is which?

[Steve.r]

Most of us think that these are ancient monuments or stone age creations, but I believe that most of these horses and other things carved into the lime stone hills are just 'follies' By this I mean they are pieces of art produced specially to provoke the reaction that they get. Most were made less than 200 years ago.
One of the most famous and potographed is the Cerne Giant. It is only a few miles from where I live. It is supposed to be thousands of years old and an ancient fertility symbol, but it turns out that again, it was made only a couple of hundred years ago. There are no records of the giant in a monestary which had been on the site for hundreds of years.

photo below, (what a naughty giant!!)

[nigel]

Thanks Penny and South East Boy!

Thanks to your links I have found it out...

It is in some place called 'Old Litlington'

Here's a copy and paste from a website:

Litlington White Horse

This horse was cut around 1838, high on a good steep slope on Hindover or High and Over Hill overlooking the Cuckmere valley, perhaps to mark the coronation of Queen Victoria. It was lost around the time the new Litlington horse was cut about a hundred yards to the south east; presumably it had already disappeared and the new horse was a replacement for it.

A sturdy horse in a standing position, not unlike the Westbury horse, it was cut around 1924 or 1925, and is about a hundred yards from the site of the earlier Litlington horse. In 1983 its design was altered slightly by raising one foreleg to give better definition to the legs. This horse was last scoured in 1993.



I was driving past it on my way to some place...I may have attracted it cause had thought about it a month or so before... Anyway I stopped and photo'd it not really knowing what it is!

[Pete67]

Thanks Penny and South East Boy!

Thanks to your links I have found it out...

It is in some place called 'Old Litlington'

Here's a copy and paste from a website:

Litlington White Horse

This horse was cut around 1838, high on a good steep slope on Hindover or High and Over Hill overlooking the Cuckmere valley, perhaps to mark the coronation of Queen Victoria. It was lost around the time the new Litlington horse was cut about a hundred yards to the south east; presumably it had already disappeared and the new horse was a replacement for it.

A sturdy horse in a standing position, not unlike the Westbury horse, it was cut around 1924 or 1925, and is about a hundred yards from the site of the earlier Litlington horse. In 1983 its design was altered slightly by raising one foreleg to give better definition to the legs. This horse was last scoured in 1993.



I was driving past it on my way to some place...I may have attracted it cause had thought about it a month or so before... Anyway I stopped and photo'd it not really knowing what it is!

Hey Nigel, if you ever had some time to spare around BN15 it would be great to catch up with you... all the best m8

[South-east boy]

Here's the Kent one, but it's pretty new:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folkestone_White_Horse

[Pete67]

Both the "long (hehehe) man of Wilmington" and the "white horse of Lewes" are regarded as sacred sites of Sussex by the Druids, and others, and are considered to be very spiritual places. It is really great that people are interested in them. {smiley face}