Wiltshire White Horses:
Divine Café
sits beneath the Cherhill White Horse on the edge of Cherhill Downs, just east
of the village of Cherhill. This is said to be the second oldest of the
Wiltshire horses. Nearby is the earthwork of Oldbury Castle and the obelisk
known as the Lansdowne Monument. There are footpaths to the horse from the A4
close to
Divine Café
making it an ideal starting and finishing place.
Wiltshire is famous for its White Horses. At one time there were at least
twenty four of these hill carvings in Britain. Wiltshire had thirteen of them.
However, the oldest of them all is just over the border in Oxfordshire at
Uffingham. Until 1970 it was actually in Berkshire, but then the borders were
changed, so it’s now in Oxon. As most of the white horses are chalk carvings,
the chalk downs of central Wiltshire make it an ideal place for such figures.
Only
eight of the original thirteen still exist as the rest have either been lost
completely or grown over, so that they are no longer visible to the eye.
Despite what folklore says most of these horses are not of great antiquity.
Actually, only the Uffingham white horse is known to be of prehistoric origin,
being over three thousand years old. The others date from the last three
hundred years, although the origins of some are impossible to date with
certainty.
It
is said to be inspired by the Westbury horse, as it was cut in 1780, just two
years after that first Wiltshire horse was re-cut to a new design. The Cherhill
horse was the work of the ‘Mad Doctor’, Dr. Christopher Alsop of Calne. He is
supposed to have directed the markings from a distance by calling instructions
through a megaphone. Dr Alsop’s design was apparently influenced by his artist
friend George Stubbs, famous for his paintings of horses etc.
The
white horse had an unusual feature, a glass eye. This was made from upturned
bottles pressed into the ground to reflect sunlight. It had a gleaming
appearance and was visible from considerable distance. However, they no longer
remain, thought to have been taken as souvenirs over the years. The present eye
is of stone and concrete.
The
horse became dilapidated over the years and major restoration was carried out in
August 2002, involving re-cutting the outline of the horse and 160 tonnes of
fresh chalk was used to resurface the body of the carving.
