Hill forts · South West England
Pewsey White Horse
In or near Pewsey.
Pewsey White Horse is a hill figure of a white horse near the village of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. Cut into the chalk in 1937, it replaces an earlier horse that had disappeared under the grass and i
Pam Brophy — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1 h–2 h
- Nearest railway station
- Pewsey · 2.5 km
Getting there & planning your visit
To visit the Pewsey White Horse, the nearest railway station is Pewsey, located 2.5 km away. The postcode for navigation is SN9 6NJ. Entry is free, and there are no specific details provided about accessibility.
About
Pewsey White Horse is a hill figure of a white horse near the village of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. Cut into the chalk in 1937, it replaces an earlier horse that had disappeared under the grass and is one of eight remaining white horses in Wiltshire. Measuring 66 feet (20 m) by 45 feet (14 m), it is the smallest of the eight canonical white horses in Wiltshire. When it was cut, Pewsey White Horse was either the seventh or eighth white horse in Wiltshire, depending on whether the Rockley White Horse was included (it was unknown until 1948), and was the first of the 20th century. It was also one of the smallest. George Marples, the father of Morris Marples, who later wrote about the white horse, designed it to commemorate the coronation of George VI, inspired by other white horses in Wiltshire. The horse is a prominent landmark in Pewsey, and today it is maintained and scoured by the Pewsey 6X Club, who work under the name Pewsey Horse Restoration Group. Wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk consider it to be a "well-proportioned representation of the real animal." The white horse also features on the town flag of Pewsey, whose registration notes describe the horse as "iconic". Barry Leighton of the Swindon Advertiser describes the horse as standing in a "care-free trotting stance." The Gazette and Herald have referred to the horse as "one of Pewsey's proudest monuments."
Photo gallery
Protected designations
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: River Avon System SSSI
- Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Cotswolds
- Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty: North Wessex Downs
Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
Pewsey White Horse is a hill figure of a white horse near the village of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. Cut into the chalk in 1937, it replaces an earlier horse that had disappeared under the grass and is one of eight remaining white horses in Wiltshire. Measuring 66 feet (20 m) by 45 feet (14 m), it is the smallest of the eight canonical white horses in Wiltshire. When it was cut, Pewsey White Horse was either the seventh or eighth white horse in Wiltshire, depending on whether the Rockley White Horse was included (it was unknown until 1948), and was the first of the 20th century. It was also one of the smallest. George Marples, the father of Morris Marples, who later wrote about the white horse, designed it to commemorate the coronation of George VI, inspired by other white horses in Wiltshire. The horse is a prominent landmark in Pewsey, and today it is maintained and scoured by the Pewsey 6X Club, who work under the name Pewsey Horse Restoration Group. Wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk consider it to be a "well-proportioned representation of the real animal." The white horse also features on the town flag of Pewsey, whose registration notes describe the horse as "iconic". Barry Leighton of the Swindon Advertiser describes the horse as standing in a "care-free trotting stance." The Gazette and Herald have referred to the horse as "one of Pewsey's proudest monuments."
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
.]] A previous white horse was cut on the same hill, probably in 1785. It was cut by, or on the instructions of, Robert Pile of Manor Farm, Alton Barnes. The nearby Alton Barnes White Horse was cut 27 years later by a Robert Pile of the same address, but it is unknown if this is the same man. The horse received a scouring in 1789, believed to be the first and last scouring, as the landowner objected to the festivities which had accompanied the scouring and thus refused to allow it to happen again. Thus, it fell into neglect, and by the mid-1800s was in a bad state of repair. By the mid-1930s, the chalk of the horse was no longer visible. Nonetheless, the outline of the head and body could…
Description
The smallest white horse in Wiltshire, Pewsey White Horse is 35 ft high and 67 ft long. Pewsey White Horse is cut on private land roughly a mile south of the village of Pewsey, on a steep NNW facing slope of Pewsey Hill about 500’ above sea level. Access to the horse is available to visitors. The horse can be seen from along the A345 near Pewsey and along the south of the village itself, but the horse is viewed most clearly from the Pewsey to Everleigh road below Pewsey Hill. The figure can be visited from the top of Pewsey Hill where there are footpaths leading to the horse and places where a car may be parked (although not designated parking places).
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 51.3212, -1.7566
- District
- Wiltshire
- Parish
- Pewsey
- Postcode
- SN9 6NJ
- Parliamentary constituency
- East Wiltshire
- Established
- 1937
- Nearest railway station
- Pewsey — 2.5 km
Sources
- wikipedia: Pewsey White Horse (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Pewsey White Horse?
- Pewsey White Horse is in South-West England, United Kingdom (postcode SN9 6NJ), in the parish of Pewsey.
- What is Pewsey White Horse?
- Pewsey White Horse is a hill figure of a white horse near the village of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. Cut into the chalk in 1937, it replaces an earlier horse that had disappeared under the grass and i
- How do I get to Pewsey White Horse?
- The nearest railway station is Pewsey, about 2.5 km away. Drivers can use postcode SN9 6NJ.
- When was Pewsey White Horse built?
- Built or established in 1937.
- Is Pewsey White Horse a protected site?
- Yes — Pewsey White Horse is part of the River Avon System SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Cotswolds National Landscape (AONB).
- How do I get to Pewsey White Horse?
- The nearest railway station is Pewsey, about 2.5 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode SN9 6NJ.