Litlington White Horse

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Coordinates: 50°47′17″N 0°08′31″E / 50.788106°N 0.142031°E / 50.788106; 0.142031
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50°47′17″N 0°08′31″E / 50.788106°N 0.142031°E / 50.788106; 0.142031

Litlington White Horse
Current Litlington White Horse
Litlington White Horse is located in East Sussex
Litlington White Horse
Shown within East Sussex
Alternative nameWhite Horse on Hindover Hill; White Horse of Alfriston
LocationHindover Hill, Litlington
RegionEast Sussex, England
Coordinates50°47′17″N 0°08′31″E / 50.788106°N 0.142031°E / 50.788106; 0.142031
TypeHill figure monument
Length20m (65ft)
Width28m (93ft)
History
MaterialChalk
FoundedFirst recorded 1838
Associated with
EventsCoronation of Queen Victoria
Site notes
OwnershipNational Trust
Public accessYes
Websitehttps://heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRecord.aspx?uid=MNA127529

The Litlington White Horse is a chalk hill figure depicting a horse, situated on Hindover Hill (known locally as High-and-Over) in the South Downs, looking over the River Cuckmere to the west of the village of Litlington and north of East Blatchington in East Sussex, England.

The current horse was cut in 1924 by John T Ade, Eric Hobbis and Stephen Bovis in a single night and stands at 93 ft (28 m) long and 65 ft (20 m) high. A previous horse was previously cut slightly north-west of the current horse in either 1838 or 1860.[1] Since 1991, the horse has been owned by the National Trust, who, along with local volunteers, regularly clean and maintain the horse.[2]

The Litlington White Horse is one of two hill figures in East Sussex; the other being the Long Man of Wilmington which is situated 3 miles north-east of the White Horse. The horse is one of only eleven horse hill figures in England situated outside of Wiltshire.

Original Litlington White Horse[edit]

The origin of the original White Horse is most commonly accepted as being created by James Pagden, the son of a tenant farmer of Frog Firle Farm, along with his two brothers and his cousin William Ade (1820–92), in 1838 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Victoria.[1] It has also been suggested that William Ade's father, Charles Ade, who had experience in surveying, was involved in the planning.[1] This view of the horses cutting in 1838 is supported by the numerous accounts of the white horse recorded throughout the 1850s and 60s.

An additional view is that the horse was cut in 1860 by two local boys, noticing a patch of bare chalk resembling a horse's head, they proceeded to cut away the rest of the horse to complement it.[1][3] While the view it was originally cut in 1838 is more commonly accepted, it's conceivable that these boys might have recut the horse after a period of neglect in 1860, which had resulted in excessive overgrowth in certain parts of the horse's body and subsequently contributing to the confusion of its later creation.[4] It was around the early 1860s in which the crudity of the horses cutting is frequently remarked, including one remark in 1862 referring to the horse as "a piece of rustic sculpture", inferring that the recutting of the horse in the early 1860s was not done to the same standard as its original form in 1828.[5]

Continued mentions of the horse in texts throughout the mid to late 1800s suggest the figure was regularly maintained until around 1900, in which neglect resulted in the original horse becoming completely covered by the early 1910s. The last recorded sighting of the horse was in 1924, in which it "could be made out, though with difficulty" due to significant overgrowth.[6]

Although it has been suggested that the original horse was likely located 100 yards to the north-west of the present horse, photographs of Hindover Hill in the late 1910s show the faint outline of the horse roughly in the same location as the present day horse.[7] Although no known accounts of the original horse describe its size and design, faint photographs suggest the horse was considerable larger than the present horse and was cut in a standing position with straight legs, similar to other white horse hill figures.

The Hackpen White Horse is often regarded as the 'sister horse' to the original Litlington White Horse, both having been initially cut in 1838 to honour the coronation of Queen Victoria and were of broadly similar proportions.

Current Litlington White Horse[edit]

The current horse was carved by John T. Ade (the grandson of William Ade, one of the cutters of the original horse) alongside two of his friends Eric Hobbis and Stephen Bovis, during a single night on the full moon of 20th February 1924.[8] Originally designed by John Ade during the winter of 1923, he drew inspiration for his design from the Westbury White Horse in Wiltshire.[9] John Ade's interest in cutting the horse was based on both the history of the original Litlington White Horse cut by his grandfather, alognside the story of the Kilburn White Horse in North Yorkshire.[9]

According to the accounts of John Ade, they first laid out the horse using ropes and pegs in the House Field at Ade's Grove Hill Farm in the nearby village of Hellingly in preparation for its cutting in Litlington.[9][10] The original drawing created by John Ade to assist with the horses cutting is minutely annotated to give the distance between each peg and the next to ensure the accuracy of the designs transfer.[9][10] During the February full moon, the men cut the horse using a 'stick' of 35 inches as a measurement for a quick transfer of their design.[10] The horse was cut without the knowledge of the local residents, who awoke startled by the horse's appearance on the side of the hill; this may have been the motivation behind the speedy cutting.[11]

Litlington White Horse before 1940

During the late 1930s by the Ministry of Defence to prevent it from being used as a location marker for the Luftwaffe in World War II after maps featuring hill figures were found on captured German aircrew.[12] The rushed uncovering of the horse in 1945, by contractors from the Ministry of Defence, resulted in several changes to the horse's original shape, including only one front leg being recut.[12] This was not corrected until the full moon of 9th June 1949, when between 10 pm and 3 am, two of the original cutters John Ade and Stephen Bovis, alongside a friend Paul Harris, made several further changes to return the horse to its original appearance in 1924, including recutting an additional front leg and readjusted the back which "had shifted uphill a bit from saddle to rump".[10][13][14]

The Litlington White Horse design and 1949 repairs (by James Lancaster, based on J. T. Ade’s plan of 1924)

In 1983, the East Sussex County Council scoured the horse and installed wooden boards around the horse, as well as using boards to reduce the horse's gradient by terracing its legs and body, keeping the chalk in place.[12] This work also included the installation of a perimeter fence to prevent damage from livestock.[12] It was at this time that the horse was also changed from a standing position to a prancing position, in order to prevent a slippage of the chalk rubble used to fill the figure, resulting in the horse taking its present form.[15][16] This change in thebhorses legs was directed using a two-way radio link between workers on the hill and observers below in the valley.[9][10] A significant issue in the horse's preservation since its recutting in 1924 has been the legs acting as channels for running water, causing the legs to become straightened, elongated and splay out to form deltas at the hooves after significant rainfall.[9] In 1991, Frog Firle Farm along with the White Horse, which is situated in its grounds, was acquired by the National Trust who has since regularly maintained the horse, being last scoured in 2016.[17]

Looking across the Cuckmere Valley from the horse

As a significant local landmark and being easily accessible from an adjoining public footpath, the horse has been subject to several acts of vandalism. In May 2017, the horse was vandalised with the addition of a unicorn horn, although it was quickly removed.[18]

The horse is on a slope of 45 degrees and measures around 28m (65ft) long and 20m (93ft) high. Unique from other horse hill figures, it has been cut in a prancing position since 1983.[19] When visiting the horse in 1949, Morris Marples described its as having "two ears and a long, flowing tail, but lacks both an eye and nostril".[20]

Situated on the peak of Hindover Hill is a free car park located along Alfriston Road, being only a short footpath walk down to the White Horse. A better view of the horse is, however, obtained from across the valley by walking south along the banks of the River Cuckmere from Litlington village.

Previous Hill Figures on Hindover Hill[edit]

White Cross[edit]

Several accounts of the Litlington White Hore since the mid-1860s referred to a large cross that was also cut into the chalk alongside the horse on Hindover Hill.[21] This includes one account in 1865 referring to the figures as "the cross and white horse".[22] Although from the 1890s accounts of the horse fail to mention any presence of a cross. It is not known why the horse continued to be maintained whilst the cross was neglected.

Hindover Hill Giant[edit]

The Long Man of Wilmington, situated 3 miles north-east of Hindover Hill

According to historian Rodney Castleden, Hindover Hill once hosted the figure of a giant similar to the Long Man of Wilmington, but has long since been forgotten.[23] This was similarly mentioned by historian Jacqueline Simpson who suggested until the 1800s the Giant of Hindover Hill and the Long Man of Wilmington where collectively referred to a 'Adam and Eve'.[24] Moreover, in 1905 J. P. Emslie recorded a local tale of a male figure being carved into Hindover Hill, representing "a man being thrown from a horse" which was said to have marked the site of a great victory by the Saxons over the Normans.[25] The nature of these frequent accounts was summarised by A. H. Allcroft as "men who were schoolboys in the 1860s recollect it well enough, though is now so vanished that leamed folks refuse to believe it".[26]

Other hill figures[edit]

According to several accounts during the late 1920s and 30s, below the current white horse was cut a large letter S and to its right an irregular shape which resembled a lion's head, although no further mention of these can be found after the mid-1930s.[27] If these markings were manmade and not natural occurrences, their short existence would suggest they where not maintained since their creation.

Folklore[edit]

Hindover Hill including the current White Horse

Local folklore suggests that the horse was originally cut as a memorial to a local girl whose horse bolted when ridding along the brow of Hindover Hill, throwing her down the hill which resulted in her death.[12] However, there is no evidence to suggest this to be true.[12]

Another story suggests the hill figure originally depicted a dog, cut by a grieving boy to mark the grave of his dog which was killed either alongside or in the River Cuckmere below. Supposedly, due to erosion of the dog's nose and legs over the following years, it began to depict a horse, causing the figure to take its present form. Nevertheless, there is also little evidence which suggests this to be true.

In popular culture[edit]

Litlington White Horse was the solution to Pimania, the UK's first real-life video treasure hunt game.[28] First released in 1982, the clues revealing the White Horse were not identified until 1985, by which time its publisher Automata UK had ceased trading.[29]

Litlington White Horse served as the inspiration for Miriam Moss's book The Horse Girl (2002), which depicts a young girl who secretly carves a large white horse in the chalky hill overlooking her village due to her mother forbidding her from going near real horses.[30]

Gallery[edit]

  • Horse before being scoured
    Horse before being scoured
  • Horse after being scoured
    Horse after being scoured
  • Second horse soon after being cut in the late 1920s
    Second horse soon after being cut in the late 1920s
  • Drawing of the second Litlington White Horse in 1936
    Drawing of the second Litlington White Horse in 1936
  • Second horse with only one front leg after being uncovered in 1945
    Second horse with only one front leg after being uncovered in 1945
  • Original Litlington White Horse late 1910s (outlined in red)
    Original Litlington White Horse late 1910s (outlined in red)

See also[edit]

Other White Horses[edit]

Other Hill Figures[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Litlington White Horse". Atlas Obscura. Atlas Obscura.
  2. ^ "Littlington White Horse". Litlington White Horse. Littlington White Horse. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  3. ^ Keller, Mathew. "WHAT'S THAT COMING OVER THE HILL?! SOUTHERN ENGLAND'S CHALK HILL FIGURES". In Retrospect. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  4. ^ Marples, Morris (1970). White Horses and Other Hill Figures. Wakefield: S.R. Publishers. p. 129.
  5. ^ "Sussex Archaeological Collections, 1846 -1861". Quarterly Review. 122: 74. 1862.
  6. ^ Marples, Morris (1970). White Horses and Other Hill Figures. Wakefield: S.R. Publishers. p. 129.
  7. ^ Marples, Morris (1970). White Horses and Other Hill Figures. Wakefield: S.R. Publishers. p. 129.
  8. ^ Keller, Mathew. "WHAT'S THAT COMING OVER THE HILL?! SOUTHERN ENGLAND'S CHALK HILL FIGURES". In Retrospect. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Marsden, Fiona (1986). "The White Horse near Litlington: A Further Note" (PDF). Sussex Archaeological Collections. 124 (1): 251–252. Open access icon
  10. ^ a b c d e Marsden, Fiona (1984). "the White Horse near Litlington, East Sussex" (PDF). Sussex Archaeological Collections. 122 (1): 222–223. Open access icon
  11. ^ "Littlington White Horse". Littlington White Horse. Littlington White Horse. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Bergamar, Kate (2008). Discovering Hill Figures. Botley, Oxford: Shire Publications. p. 50.
  13. ^ "Littlington White Horse". Littlington White Horse. Littlington White Horse. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Litlington White Horse". Photographers Resource. Photographers Resource. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Littlington White Horse". Littlington White Horse. Littlington White Horse. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Litlington White Horse". Photographers Resource. Photographers Resource. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  17. ^ "National Trust volunteers clean up Litlington White Horse". BBC News. BBC News. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  18. ^ Syed, Yasmin. "The story behind the giant white horse carved in Litlington's South Downs cliffs". No. 26/06/2021. Sussex Live. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  19. ^ Marples, Morris (1970). White Horses and Other Hill Figures. Wakefield: S.R. Publishers. p. 129.
  20. ^ Marples, Morris (1970). White Horses and Other Hill Figures. Wakefield: S.R. Publishers. p. 129.
  21. ^ The Ecclesiastic: The Memorabilia of Sussex. London: Joseph Masters and Sons. 1865. p. 18.
  22. ^ The Ecclesiastic: The Memorabilia of Sussex. London: Joseph Masters and Sons. 1865. p. 18.
  23. ^ Castleden, Rodney (1983). The Wilmington Giant: The Quest for a Lost Myth. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press. p. 24.
  24. ^ Jacqueline, Simpson (1973). The Folklore of Sussex. Batsford. p. 29.
  25. ^ Burne, C. S. (1915). "Scraps of Folklore Collected by John Philipps Emslie, Folklore". Folklore. 26 (2): 164.
  26. ^ Jacqueline, Simpson (1973). The Folklore of Sussex. Batsford. p. 29.
  27. ^ Marples, Morris (1970). White Horses and Other Hill Figures. Wakefield: S.R. Publishers. p. 129.
  28. ^ Automata UK. "PIMANIA - The Answer". Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  29. ^ "PiMania – The sundial is revealed!". Computer and Video Games. October 1985. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  30. ^ Moss, Miriam (24 February 2004). The Horse Girl. London: Lincoln Children's Books. p. 32.
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